This collection contains an album (ca. 1930) of seventy-eight photographs and postcards taken by an unknown German missionary while working in the Malolo area of Papua New Guinea.
Between 1884 and 1914 the northeastern part of New Guinea was a German protectorate. At the beginning of the First World War, Australian troops occupied Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, as German New Guinea was known, with only one battle. Germany officially surrendered on September 21, 1918, and the area was controlled by Australia until 1975 when it obtained complete independence. The southeastern portion of the island had been known as British New Guinea and later as Papua. Together the area became known as Papua New Guinea. Despite the official ouster of Germany from New Guinea, some German missionaries remained on the island.
The collection consists of one photograph album (ca. 1930), which contains seventy-eight black and white photographic prints and postcards that are approximately 4" x 3" in size. The photographs in this album appear to have been compiled by one of the German missionaries in Papua, New Guinea; the album itself was produced in Germany. Included are a fascinating array of images of the Papua New Guineans, beachscapes and shots of the interior, native agriculture and livestock, as well as of the mission school and a group shot of the staff who taught there. There are also descriptions written in German on the back of ten of the photographs.
The photograph album was disassembled for preservation reasons, but a photocopy of the album shows the original order.
Purchased from Maggs Bros. Ltd., London, England
Encoded by Jonathan Dembo, November 5, 2009
Processed by David R. Miller, December 2, 2009
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