Beyond the Coral Sea: Travels in the Old Empires of the South-West Pacific
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A romantic and adventurous journey to the hidden islands and lagoons beyond Papua New Guinea and north of Australia.East of Java, west of Tahiti and north of the Cape York peninsula of Australia lie the unknown paradise islands of the Coral, Solomon and Bismarck Seas. They were perhaps the last inhabited place on earth to be explored by Europeans, and even today many remain largely unspoilt, despite the former presence of German, British and even Australian colonial rulers.Michael Moran, a veteran traveller, begins his journey on the island of Samarai, historic gateway to the old British Protectorate, as the guest of the benign grandson of a cannibal. He explores the former capitals of German New Guinea and headquarters of the disastrous New Guinea Compagnie, its administrators decimated by malaria and murder. He travels along the inaccessible Rai Coast through the Archipelago of Contented Men, following in the footsteps of the great Russian explorer ‘Baron’ Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay.The historic anthropological work of Bronislaw Malinowski guides him through the seductive labyrinth of the Trobriand ‘Islands of Love’ and the erotic dances of the yam festival. Darkly humorous characters, both historical and contemporary, spring vividly to life as the author steers the reader through the richly fascinating cultures of Melanesia.‘Beyond the Coral Sea’ is a captivating voyage of unusual brilliance and a memorable evocation of a region which has been little written about during the past century.Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.
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Michael Moran. Beyond the Coral Sea: Travels in the Old Empires of the South-West Pacific
BEYOND THE CORAL SEA
Dedication
Epigraph
Contents
Maps
Prologue
1. Forsaking Pudding Island
2. The Eye of the Eagle
3. ‘No More ’Um Kaiser, God Save ’Um King’
4. Death is Lighter than a Feather
5. Too Hard a Country for Soft Drinks
6. ‘Mr Hallows Plays No Cricket. He’s Leaving on the Next Boat.’
7. Constitutional Crisis in Makamaka
8. ‘O Maklai, O Maklai!’ or The Archipelago of Contented Men
9. Kolonialpolitik Defeats the Man from the Moon
10. Minotaurs on Gilded Couches
11. Feverish Nightmares
12. Grand Opening – Tsoi Island General Store
13. An Account of the Criminal Excesses of Charles Bonaventure du Breil,
14. ‘In Loveing Memory’
15. ‘The Sick Man Goes Down with the Plane’
16. ‘Rabaul i blow up!’
17. Queen Emma
18. A Moveable Feast
19. ‘No Trespassing Except By Request’
20. Auf Wiedersehn, Kannibalen
21. Under the Mosquito Net in Malinowski’s Tent
22. Farewell to That Strange and Fatal Glamour
Epilogue
Afterword
Brief Chronology of Significant Historical Events in Papua New Guinea
THE TERRITORY OF PAPUA AND NEW GUINEA
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Bibliography of Principal Sources
Index
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
About the Author
Copyright
About the Publisher
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Travels in the old Empires of the South-West Pacific
MICHAEL MORAN
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Myth and magic give life meaning in the islands. We discussed the weighty word kastom. It is an essential Pidgin concept that derives from the English word ‘custom’ but with a more complex Melanesian meaning and multifarious connotations. It is normally used in reference to traditional culture that has come under threat from aggressive European development. But kastom cannot be simply translated. There are many contradictions within this multilayered concept. The idea has led to a strong cultural revival as regional identities become increasingly diluted. People are always talking about the loss of it. Closeness to nature and the traditional sense of belonging to a community are being replaced by the desire for individual consumption. European technology dominates modern life in the cities, yet a profound need remains for the unseen worlds of magic and religion. A further complication is the extreme cultural diversity of the country. Many distinct cultures have been wilfully cobbled together into the artificial political entity known as Papua New Guinea. Cultural differences are ignored, or worse, attempts are made to diffuse them.
‘More chilli crab?’ Sam spun the lazy susan.
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