I've just finished reading "Mungo - the man who laughs", a ramble through the Australian political landscape (of the mostly Whitlam years) with Mungo MacCallum, known for his strongly centre-left, pro-Australian Labor Party views who had also been a card-carrying member of the Australian Communist Party.
This writer and journalist, whom Gough Whitlam once described as a "tall, bearded descendant of lunatic aristocrats", and who in turn once desctibed John Howard as an "unflushable turd", had strong opinions on just about everyone and everything, including New Guinea which he dealt with in his book on page 71:
"New Guinea in particular was starting to impinge on the Australian consciousness. Since World War I it had been our colony, on the understanding that we were nursing it towards independence. But to those few who took an interest in the area, it was clear that this was not a priority of the Menzies government. When ministers spoke of the place at all, independence was hardly a consideration. Control of the rich picking from rubber, coffee and copra was a much higher priority. This involved protecting the white planters and their estates through the paramilitary kiap system - the kiaps being young Australians, usually of little education, in whom considerable authority was vested. Their power to inflict summary punishment on natives who bucked the system had led to what the media sometimes referred to as 'disturbing reports'. While a couple of days in Port Moresby would hardly allow for an in-depth investigation, the chance to get at least a feel of the place was too good to miss. Of course, I learned nothing, although my prejudices were confirmed by the dimissive attitudes of the whites I spoke to, who clearly regarded me as too young and ignorant to understand the special problems they faced - a cop-out used regularly by every oppressive regime in history."
I wonder if the kiaps I knew would have agreed with his assessment of being "usually of little education", although it is true that their authority was considerable. In fact, ABC presenter Tim Bowden in Episode 3 of his twenty-four-episode broadcast TAIM BILONG MASTA even referred to them as "God's Shadow on Earth". To listen to Episode 3, click here.
