Papuan Pictures

In Short

This illustrated memoir documents the daily rhythms, customs, and educational efforts of a Christian mission in turn-of-the-century coastal Papua New Guinea. Written for young readers and supporters back home, the narrative follows missionary H. M. Dauncey as he travels between shoreline villages, opens schools, treats illnesses, and negotiates cultural misunderstandings. Rather than offering a sweeping history, it presents vivid, episodic sketches of Papuan childhood, traditional engineering, and community life. It endures as an unvarnished primary source capturing the everyday human interactions, tensions, and misunderstandings that occurred on the early missionary frontier.

The Story

The book opens in the vibrant world of Papuan children, detailing traditional games like mock sea battles and animal impersonations. Dauncey quickly transitions from play to the core work of the mission: replacing string-knot counting systems with written alphabets and formal schooling. From these village clearings, the account moves into the home, detailing the lifecycle of local families. Readers observe how marriages are negotiated through step-by-step payments of sago and shells, how infants are swung in woven banana-fibre cradles, and how elevated houses are built to withstand the climate.

Alongside these domestic scenes, the narrative introduces the pervasive role of sorcery. The local chief, Miria, embodies the tension between traditional power and colonial law. When Miria faces arrest for practicing sorcery, he attempts to bribe Dauncey with feathers, shells, and a single shilling in a matchbox to intercede with the police. This incident highlights the deep cultural divide: while the missionary sees superstition, the villagers see an invisible network of cause and effect that must be constantly bought off or appeased.

As the narrative progresses, Dauncey recounts the practical logisic challenges of missionary work across land and sea. Travel by whaleboat involves navigating complex river networks, cutting paths through thorn-filled jungle, and managing trade boxes packed with stick tobacco, knives, and glass beads—the essential currency for carriers and supplies. The physical reality of mission life is frequently punctuated by mishaps, including a collapsed verandah floor during a solemn farewell dinner that drops a crowd of heavy-weight teachers into a nine-foot pit amidst broken chinaware and roast pork.

The later chapters broaden to include region-wide gatherings, native medical practices, and diplomatic interventions. During Christmas celebrations, hundreds gather for boat races, greasy-pole climbs, and traditional earth-oven feasts. Medical work ranges from treating leg wounds inflicted by stingrays to managing native surgery, such as bloodletting via bow-and-arrow to cure headaches. The book reaches its dramatic climax during a high-stakes peace conference between rival coastal and inland villages. Amidst mock charges and intense posturing, Dauncey and his party narrowly escape an ambush thanks to the quick thinking of native teachers who block the archers' line of sight. The narrative concludes with a plea for continued sympathy and practical support, emphasizing that cultural transformation is a slow, difficult climb rather than an overnight conversion.

How It Unfolds

Youth and literacy Children play intricate group games mimicking sea-going trading canoes before gathering in open-air classrooms where string knots serve as calendar markers until written alphabets are introduced.

Domestic life and cradles Young parents assemble homes high on wooden stilts, while mothers craft flexible cradles out of banana fiber to carry babies on their backs or suspend them under crop leaves.

Confronting the sorcerer Village chief Miria visits the mission house at midnight to offer trade goods and a single coin, begging the missionary to turn back the police who seek to arrest him for sorcery.

Building under custom A teacher independently completes the thatch roof of a sandalwood church to beat the rainy season, only to discover he has violated a strict local taboo regarding construction order.

Disaster at the feast During a formal farewell gathering, an old verandah floor gives way under the weight of guests and food, sending dozens of teachers and children tumbling into a nine-foot pit.

Navigating the interior Travelers load a heavy barter box full of stick tobacco and tools onto a whaleboat, navigating narrow mangrove creeks before hacking through dense thorn thickets on foot.

Reciting the scriptures Students at a rural school surprise their examiners by reciting four complete chapters of the Gospel of Matthew by memory, complete with long genealogical lists of foreign names.

The Christmas gathering Villages collect for holiday sports, pig roasts, and earth-oven feasts, where a designated caller capers through the crowd to assign food piles to each visiting family.

A tense peace conference Warring villages meet to negotiate peace through dramatic displays of force, while native teachers quietly interpose themselves to block armed men from shooting at the white missionaries.

The People

• H. M. Dauncey: The author and head missionary at Delena. He wants to establish schools, provide medical care, and spread Christianity. He acts as an observer, doctor, and negotiator, maintaining a pragmatic attitude toward constant travel hazards.
• Miria: The hereditary chief and local sorcerer of Delena. Vain and friendly, he wants to maintain his village standing while dodging the colonial authorities, repeatedly serving prison sentences for his magical practices.
• Matareu: A dedicated mission worker who wants to complete community projects efficiently. His eagerness leads him to thatch a church roof without waiting for tribal leaders, putting him at odds with traditional village laws.
• Timoteo: A Samoan teacher stationed in Kabadi who dedicated his life to mission work. Having lost most of his family to local diseases, he remains focused on caring for neglected orphans like young Papauta.
• Tamate: A veteran senior missionary who accompanies Dauncey to high-risk peace negotiations. Calm under pressure, he recognizes the lethal danger of tribal standoffs long before others notice the raised bows.

In Its Own Voice

"Only a short time ago I saw a man send word to a friend in another village that he should expect him to come in six days."

A traveler carries a string with six knots, biting off one knot each night until the day of the meeting arrives.

"The tight the corner the more he shines, and many others as well as ourselves would have ended their days in Papua long ago had not our boys stuck to us in time of need."

Dauncey reflects on the loyalty and bravery of young Papuan crew members during dangerous journeys across land and sea.

"In place of two rows of expectant guests, and a loaded table... there was a great hole in the verandah floor, and at the bottom a mass of men, women and children mixed up with broken crockery."

An overladen verandah gives way during a formal missionary farewell dinner, dropping the entire party nine feet without serious injury.

What It's Really About

At its heart, the book explores the friction between deep-seated traditional customs and external efforts at modernization and religious conversion. It shows that culture change is not a simple matter of handing over new ideas, but an intricate negotiation filled with misunderstandings. Through everyday incidents—such as village taboos halting church construction or patients insisting that relatives swallow their prescribed medicine—the text illustrates how deeply native worldviews shape daily choices.

The narrative also examines the realities of colonial contact. Rather than depicting passive subjects, it shows Papuans actively adopting, adapting, or rejecting foreign items—whether using silk top hats for warmth on trading voyages, turning illustrated magazines into home wallpaper, or accepting European medical care while retaining faith in bloodletting.

Why Read It Today

This book will appeal to readers interested in colonial history, Pacific island cultures, and early anthropological photography. It offers an immediate, eye-level view of Papuan life at the turn of the twentieth century, completely free from academic distance. The writing is clear, observationally sharp, and occasionally humorous, benefiting from sixty-three contemporary photographs that anchor the descriptions in tangible reality.

Modern readers must navigate paternalistic period attitudes, colonial assumptions, and outdated terminology common to Edwardian missionary literature. The text frequently views complex indigenous practices through a lens of Victorian moral superiority. However, readers who look past the era's missionary framework will find a valuable, highly detailed portrait of daily life, child play, construction techniques, and inter-tribal diplomacy in early Papua New Guinea.