My gun, my brother : experiences of Papua New Guinea policemen 1920 - 1960
| dc.contributor.author | Kituai, August Ibrum Kumaniari | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-08-16T02:21:02Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-08-16T02:21:02Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 1993 | |
| dc.date.issued | 1993 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2017-08-11T01:12:57Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | This study covers forty years, 1920 - 1960. It is concerned with aspects of the social and political history of members of the Royal Papuan Constabulary and the New Guinea Native police forces when they were at the peak of their careers, and when Australian rule was confident and expanding. Rather than providing an exhaustive chronology for the institutional development of the police, the thesis attempts to link information about events, about policemen's relationships with government officers (or kiaps) and villagers to wider issues in the colonial history of Papua New Guinea and, by extension, of the Pacific Islands and elsewhere. Since their formation in the 1890s, the Royal Papuan Constabulary and the New Guinea native police force played pivotal roles in the spread of German and Australian colonial rule in Papua New Guinea. Acting as middlemen, and occupying positions without precedent in their traditional backgrounds, the policemen became the eyes, ears, spokesmen and punishers of the colonial governments at the main administrative centre and the frontier. Policemen worked willingly for the government and acted as civilizing agents of the general nupela pasin of law and order, peace and hygiene. They also assisted villagers break away (some with difficulty) from a past of cannibalism, homicide, infanticide, and isolation. Some of the methods used in securing these results were dictatorial and brutal, particularly when the rifle was the symbol and reality of much colonial expansion. The thesis brings out the corporate strength felt by the police - the sense of privileged brotherhood that bound them together and the contradictions between the actions and ideals of many of the police. It explores through specific cases the extent of and the reasons for police violence. It connects the police to their own village background, both before and after police service, and it examines the relationships between police and other villagers. In their given responsibilities - policing of minor matters, exploration, apprehension of murderers, pacification of villagers, participation in the World Wars - policemen showed exceptional skills. So much of the Administration's dirty work was done by the police that without their patience, allegiance, discipline and courage colonial rule in Papua New Guinea would have been profoundly different in form and application. At least, in their perceptions, and in the views of the villagers, policemen were the most effective and ubiquitous of the colonial agents. They consistently crossed the divide between colonial rulers and the villagers under their jurisdiction, and informed them about the new order. | en_AU |
| dc.format.extent | 1 v. | |
| dc.identifier.other | b1858542 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1885/123996 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_AU |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Police HistoryPapua New Guinea | |
| dc.title | My gun, my brother : experiences of Papua New Guinea policemen 1920 - 1960 | en_AU |
| dc.type | Thesis (PhD) | en_AU |
| dcterms.valid | 1993 | en_AU |
| local.contributor.affiliation | Department of Pacific and Southeast Asian History, The Australian National University | en_AU |
| local.contributor.supervisor | Nelson, Hank | |
| local.description.notes | This thesis has been made available through exception 200AB to the Copyright Act. | en_AU |
| local.identifier.doi | 10.25911/5d6668a486238 | |
| local.mintdoi | mint | |
| local.type.degree | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | en_AU |
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