LIFE IN PAPUA
GROWTH OF CIVILISATION GREAT PROGRESS MADE. Civilisation has made comparatively rapid progress among the natives of Papua, according to the Rev. J. B. Clark, a member of the Legislative Council of Papua, who arrived at Auckland by the Ulimaroa recently on a holiday visit. The influence of Christianity had been great, Mr Clark said Men whoso fathers had been cannibals and head hunters were now working as bank clerks, assistants in Government, medical depots, and even as typists. However, in spite of the progress that had been made, the veneer of civilisation seemed to be thin at times. There were frequent instances of natives giving up lucrative employment in the white settlements in order to return, to their village homes and native customs. Still, the Papuan native was loyal and trustworthy and he did not know the meaning of fear. “One sign of the improved conditions is in the fact that the natives are now building their villages in the valleys,” Mr Clark said. “In the old days their inland villages were built on precipitous heights, as a measure of protection from their enemies. Today conditions arc much more peaceful and native warfare is fast disappearing.”
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Bibliographic details
Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 423, 14 November 1930, Page 11
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199LIFE IN PAPUA Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 423, 14 November 1930, Page 11
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