Talk:Hubert Murray

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Article Good So Far[edit]

This article is good, so far...if I had a bit more time... . Murray is a bit of an enigma. His writings about Papua (NG had a separate Governor at this time) reflect a very genuine concern for the natives and how best to bring them into modern times without too much exploitation. He was very much against the use of Pidgin, claiming it would keep Papuans subservient to colonial exploiters. (This has come to be true, although the current exploiters are home-grown colonialists!) The introduction of TV in the 80s has seen a large increase in the numbers of fluent English speakers; something that PNGBC and ABC radio never achieved.

Those with a commercial interests in Papua hated Murray. Murray made regulations in PNG that seem harsh, keeping villages well away from any colonial settlements and roads. (There's increasing violence in PNG now as squatter settlements around towns become problematic for local councils.) Murray made sure the few whites in Papua had an area safe for themselves and this was enforced by armed police. P.C. academics from the 60s onwards, in Australia, like to show these times and Murray in a bad light. In my experience, such "academics" have resorted to outright lying and references to their works are best avoided. The works of missionaries can also be a little suspect/biased, although Percy Chatterton is highly regarded.

Murray, and earlier governors, were sensitive to bad press in Australia relating to punative expeditions. This was caused by the press uproar over the "Blanche Bay Affair" of 1878 (J. Pac Hist., V24(1), 38-53, 1989). The missionary George Brown shot a large number of Tolais as a punishment for cannibalizing several other missionaries. The press questioned the right of missionaries to go to P/NG in the first place.

A closer look at appointments in the Papuan colonial admin. reveals that a number of family names occur repeatedly. Nepotism had been around since Day One in Papua. Sigma-t (talk) 05:58, 30 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]