Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Photographs
- Acknowledgements
- Maps of Papua New Guinea
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Passages to Papua New Guinea
- 2 Different Destinations
- 3 White Women in Papua New Guinea: Relative Creatures?
- 4 In Town and Down the Road
- 5 War, a Watershed in Race Relations?
- 6 The Civilising Mission
- 7 Matters of Sex
- 8 Making a Space for Women
- Appendix 1 Biographical Notes
- Appendix 2 Key Events in Chronological Order
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Glossary
- Index
6 - The Civilising Mission
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Photographs
- Acknowledgements
- Maps of Papua New Guinea
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Passages to Papua New Guinea
- 2 Different Destinations
- 3 White Women in Papua New Guinea: Relative Creatures?
- 4 In Town and Down the Road
- 5 War, a Watershed in Race Relations?
- 6 The Civilising Mission
- 7 Matters of Sex
- 8 Making a Space for Women
- Appendix 1 Biographical Notes
- Appendix 2 Key Events in Chronological Order
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
Staying in line: cultural markers in colonial society
A series of laws and economic structures from the profound to the most trivial separated the lifestyles, occupations and places of residence of the two races. Only gradually during the post-war years were these laws abandoned and attempts at a semblance of equality gradually gained momentum. At first there were racially mixed uncomfortable social gatherings; followed by non-racist legislation and an expansion of opportunities in education and employment; and finally self-government.
Once the relations of domination and subordination are clearly established, every black person is a servant of some sort and every white person a master or mistress at some level. As the Royal Commission into Papua in 1906 put it:
No matter how little a particular white man may deserve the respect of the native, it is still necessary in the interests of all white men that the native should not be in a position where respect for the ruling race will be jeopardised.
So entrenched is the white/superior and black/inferior bifurcation that a bosboi of a labour line identified the anomalies of his slightly superior situation by calling out ‘You think I'm a black man. No I'm a black white man’. A Papuan wrote to the Post Courier in 1972 ‘People are so impressed with my ability to speak English and maintain an intelligent conversation, they say that I am not a black man but a white man’.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Australian Women in Papua New GuineaColonial Passages 1920–1960, pp. 164 - 189Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1992