MISSIONS IN PAPUA

West Coast Times, 21 June 1912, Page 1

MISSIONS IN PAPUA

A LAND OF GREAT POSSIBILITIES. INTERVIEW WITH THE REV. J. T. FIELD. DUNEDIN, June 17. The Rev. J. T. Field, who is at present visiting Dunedin in the interests of tile large Methodist mission in Papan, granted a Times representative an interview on Saturday regarding the work of this mission, and the progress generally of this little-known land.

At the outset he explained that “Papon” is not the official term for British. New Guinea since its control has been taken over by the .Commonwealth Government. It includes all the southern and South Eastern portion of the land, with the adjacent Islands. The London Missionary Society was the first to begin work there, he said, When Sir William MacGregor was Lieutenant-Governor of Papau he invited the Methodist Society to begin operations, and in response to his invitation the veteran Dr. George Brown proceeded to Papua. At the same time the Church of England Missionary Society had sent out the Rev. Albert Maclarcu, and these two representatives with Dr. Lawos, of the London Missionary Society, met in conference. This was over twenty-one years ago, when they decided to divide Papau into three sections for missionary purposes. The London Missionary Society had the portion from Milne Bay away to the-West, the .Church Missionary from Capo Dncio to the northeast, /while the portion allotted to the Methodist Society comprised the mainland from East Cape to Capo Dncio, and all the islands and groups of islands to the south and southeast of Papau. The majority of these islands are densely populated, but some of the smaller ones are uninhabited. The islanders there arc among the most enterprising and daring of all the Papuans. " It is just twenty-one years this month,” said Mr. Field, “ since our mission party landed in Papau,” The party included the Rev. Dr. Promilow, the Rev. S. B. Fellows of New Zealand, Mr. Field , a missionary carpenter, Mr. James Watson, and between 30 and 40 South Soa Island natives from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The latter were volunteers from the Alclhodi&t Mission stations. The pioneer party consisted in nil of some sixty members, and is claimed to he the largest mission party ever sent out at one time by any society. They were the first -to land in that particular part of the country and commence Christian work among the natives. They found cannibalism rampant, and . vile and barbarous deeds wore daily p'.actised by those people as part of their witchcraft and sorceries. In many places the missioners were the first white people the natives bad over seen, hut they professed to receive the strangers with friendship. “Theearly experiences of these days were of a decidedly thrilling character,” remarked Mr. Field.“ Speaking of my own experience, it was part of my work to establish friendly relations with the people round about, and frequently my life was in danger. On one occasion the natives had actually prepared an oven for my body, but it did not got there. My life was saved simply because I happened to return to the boat by another track a few miles distant.” One of the first things the missionaries had to do was, of course, to acquire the native language. They did not have a written character of any description, and the language had to he gathered together word by word. After twenty years of work they have now the commencement of a literature in their own language. Portions of the Old Testament and the whole of the Now Testament have been translated into the Dolman dialect. It is among those Dobnan people, who wore described by Sir. W. MacGregor as the greatest cannibals and the most fierce warriors of all the Papuans, that the mission has, now at its headquarters. The whole of the education of the natives is in the hands of tlio missionaries, and they have their day schools with hooks and hymns in their own language. Thousands of them arc now able to read.

In reply to a question as to tlie extent of the territority under the- rare of the Methodist Mission, Mr. Field roughly estimated it at .about 250 miles in length by 80 or 90 miles in width, and said that it was all thickly peopled. One of tho results of establishing a mission station had been tho making of peace among tho tribes. Formerly they were constantly at war, and had little friendly intercourse with one another owing largely to tho custom, rigorously carried out, of exacting a life for a life. Many an innocent while man has been done array v ith to atone for a murder done hy another white man of whom ho knew nothing.

The Methodist Mission has now no fewer Hum 274 churches ami other preaching places within its district; and its Sunday services arc usually attended by over 24,000 people. Schools have been established in all those different stations, and already they have between fifty and sixty Papuan tea pliers. Those men and their wives have boon trained in the mission training institute, and are then stationed out among their own countrymen, lining school work through the week and pastoral and preaching work on Sunday. The natives arc fairly industrious. They have their own plantations, on which they grow their own food, and each season brings ’ its own special duties. In different places there are pottery makers, basket-makers, fishermen, canoe builders, ami some of the carved work done by tho natives is remarkably clover. Their weapons of war were formerly decorated and carved, mostly with scrolls and the forms of birds and fish. Tho agriculturists among then chiefly grow yams ami also taro, sugar cane, land tropical fruits. Mr-Field, stated that the hope of tho missionaries for the evangelisation of

all the natives in the district lay in the preparation and training of a native Ministry and agency. To ,that ciul they had established their central training institute under the charge of ! the Rev. M. K. Gilmonr, formerly a [, Minister in the Auckland district. Ho l and the tutor in charge had about 100 students now at the institute at Übnai, ' an island purchased from the Govcrn- ; incut. Mrs Gilmonr and the sisters of the mission had charge of a girls’ hoarding school on the same island. About nine Christian women who had given themselves to ho trained to become workers among their own conn- ; try-women lived there, and from among those tho men students chose their wives. The mission had a plantation of 100 acres just being put into shape and form, on which they hoped to employ numbers of their Christian natives New Zealand is particularly well re- ! presented among the workers of the mission, Tho Rev. W. Avery and Airs Avery at Doha, tho Rev. Gilmonr.and ! Mrs Gilmonr, Mr and Airs Harrison, ; tho Rev. Mr.. Ballairi/yne , and Mrs. ; Bidlantyne, and Sister Margaret all como from different parts of the Dominion. The Dunedin Ladies’ Anxil-

iary supports Sister Julia Benjamin, who, with other Sisters, has been doing excellent work. Air Field states that of late years there have been great developments in New Guinea,, particularly in the direction of rubber and cocoannt production. A very largo company—mostly an English syndicate, hut with some shares hold in Australia.—is taking up an area of about 100,000 acres mainly for rubber and cocoannt planting. There are many other small companies working on similar lines. So far as ho could sec tho only limitation to the development of. the country along those lines would arise from tbs difficulty of obtaining labour. At present there were about 6000 labourers indented to the different companies. Under tho regulations governing employment then l , all labourers had to sign on for a term through the government official. When tho term of service expired the labourers had to he paid off in the presence of a magistrate or other official and returned to their own districts. Tho socialistic clement prevails among those people. A man may return after three years toil with tho accumulation of pay amounting to a very largo pile of merchandise and goods of various kinds, and in a few days lie may ho one of the poorest men in tho village. The communal system is in force, and all the proceeds of his labour are divided among his friends. There are numbers of traders in those parts doing business in pearl shell, bccho do mcr, and various native products. In tho early days the missionaries had some trouble with them, hut by the. present regulations everyone is forbidden under

a penalty of £2O to give drink to a native. This law is by no means a dead-letter in tin’s case, for Air. Field says that- he has never seen a Papuan under the influence of drink. The Papuans have a very poor opinion of a man who gets drunk, ae.d have a very expressive word—“ iau ianli ” —far him. I'ranslated as nearly as possible it moans a madly foolish creature. A. great deal of exploration work remains to ho done in Papau, as very little is yet known of the. interior. Exploration parties have been- travelling hero and there, and experts have boon searching put coal and copper and petroleum deposits that are there awaiting development, hut no doubt there are many yet undiscovered, and the. possibilities; of tho country are great. It is sure to become a great asset to Australia in tho corning days. Its greatest drawback is the nnhoaltliine&g of the climate, which tends to malaria, and injuriously affects Europeans.

Air. Field is' in Dunedin doing deputation work for the Methodist Missionary Society in Australasa. He has beer, conducting - missionary meetings and services n-the Dominion now since the 4 beginning of March. This week he will he holding mootings in city and suburban Methodist churches till Friday, when ho will go on to Invercargill. He will return thence to Australia on Aionday next.