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Title
A history of contact and change in the Goroka Valley, Central Highlands of New Guinea, 1934-1949
Creator
Munster, Peter M
Date Created and/or Issued
1986
Contributing Institution
UC San Diego, The UC San Diego Library
Collection
Papua New Guinea Highlands Dissertations
Rights Information
Under copyright
Constraint(s) on Use: This work is protected by copyright law. Use of this work beyond that allowed by the applicable copyright statute requires the written permission of the copyright holder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and any use and distribution of this work rests exclusively with the user and not the UC San Diego Library. Inquiries can be made to the UC San Diego Library program having custody of the work.
Use: This work is available from the UC San Diego Library. This digital copy of the work is intended to support research, teaching, and private study.
Rights Holder and Contact
Peter M. Munster
Description
The thesis traces the interaction of the Goroka Valley people with European and coastal New Guinean intruders during the pacification stage of contact and change. In this 15 year period the people moved from a traditional subsistence culture to the threshold of a modern, European -influenced technological society. The contact experiences of the inhabitants of the Valley and the outsiders who influenced them are examined, using both oral and documentary sources. A central theme of this study is the attempts by Europeans and their coastal New Guinean collaborators to achieve the pacification of a people for whom warfare has been described as 'the dominant orientation'. The newcomers saw pacification as being inextricably linked with social, economic and religious transformation, and consequently it was pursued by patrol officers, missionaries and soldiers alike. Following an introductory chapter outlining the pre-contact and early- contact history of the Goroka Valley people, there is a discussion of the causes of tribal fighting in Highlands communities and two case studies of violent events which, although occurring beyond the Goroka Valley, had important consequences for those who lived within its bounds. The focus then shifts to the first permanent settlement of the agents of change -initially these were coastal New Guinean evangelists and policemen - and their impact on the local people. A period of consolidation is then described, as both government and missions established a permanent 'European presence in the Valley'. This period was characterised by vigorous pacification coupled with the introduction of innovations in health and education, agriculture, technology, law and religion. The gradual transformation of Goroka Valley society as a result of the people's interaction with the newcomers was abruptly accelerated in 1943, when many hundreds of Allied soldiers occupied the Valley in anticipation of a threatened Japanese invasion. Village life was disrupted as
UC San Diego Library, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0175 (https://library.ucsd.edu/dc/contact)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 501-528)
[Victoria, Australia], Deakin University, School of Social Sciences
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Deakin University, 1986
Type
text
Format
1 PDF
Subject
Influence
Thesis
Ethnology
History
Europeans
World War, 1939-1945
Oceania
Pacific Islands
Melanesia
Papua New Guinea
Goroka District (Papua New Guinea)
Place
Oceania
Pacific Islands
Melanesia
Papua New Guinea
Goroka District (Papua New Guinea)

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