From Urban Press
Help at last. Numndi has arrived. Our clumsy attempts to manage our white man's encumbrances in these primitive surroundings make him laugh. He seems to understand us; he sees that we are weak and clumsy; that we are scared of mud and germs; that we must sleep soft and long; that we must have lots of different foods which we bring in our jeep. He wants to make life easier for us, more pleasant, so that we will stay here forever, a white family in the middle of this bush.
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 17)
Where does money come from? Where do cars come from? I struggled to answer but my feeble knowledge of ...car and money factories, and the workings of the Western economic system, was totally inadequate. I was later to realise that the answers they sought lay in ritual beliefs, not Western economies.
(in Bourke et al., pp 28-29)
It seemed to me then, at the airport, that these generous village people had forgiven us for all of our faults - especially our major one, that of refusing to share with them white peoples best kept secret, the knowledge we possess and carefully gaurd from them, the knowledge that allows us to be so bloody rich and powerful, the secret knowledge of the source of money and cargo.
(ibid, p 31)
Many of us were also critical of the way we foreigners behaved in their country, the way we made opportunities for ourselves without picking up much of the cost; and the way we jumped on the bandwagon of righteousness about the wrongs of colonialism without examining our own ambiguous roles in the place.
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 50)
Like other white women in my situation, I lacked the power to effectively challenge the racist status quo, the colonial mastas. To express my rejection of white power I chose what I thought then the most potent means available to me: sexual relations with black men.
To some black lovers my [blond] hair was the sign of a true white woman, the real goods.
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 59)
Disapproval was never far away in discussions of the latest liason... These were sometimes envious women talking, while men's disapproval sounded sounded more high minded - 'boys from the village who already faced so many barriers to university study that the complexities of sexual relations with white women only added to their difficulties'
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 64)
My father said marrying someone from Papua New Guinea was like a cat and dog mating - it was against the laws of nature, because the natives of Papua New Guinea had just come down from the trees.
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 73)
I joined a Marxist development theory discussion group which met at one another's houses. Charles would refuse to join us, saying we were all privileged whites and had no idea. He was especially incensed by the discussion about black compradors, like himself who were seen to identify with European material culture rather than the village. Charles couldn't bear the moral grandstanding of people enjoying large modern houses, complete with automatic washing machines and refrigerators and annual airfares to their countries of origin as part of their salary package, when they had the same educational qualification as he.
(ibid, p 75)
Not allowed full rights, we became like the Jews in Europe when they were not allowed to own land.
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 82)
When they swim she loves to watch his hair. Like a sponge it holds its burden of water, releasing only a slow trickle down the back of his neck. Or as he surges from under the water like a dolphin, giving a deft flick of the head, it sends a great spiral of spray across the pool. Close up she can see pearly droplets clinging to every curl...
Privately she contemplates his body. Having the freedom to do so seems the very best privilege of intimacy. The gold, brown, purple, maroon shimmer of his skin, like damask, so steeped in colour only at a cursory glance appears black. She has not looked at human skin like this before. The taboo has been to great.
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 93)
Kekeri had the naturally light skin and slender physique of the Papuan, so different from the dark stockiness of the New Guineans
(in Bourke et al., p 150)
In the kitchen I handed Kekeri a plate of scones and a dish of cream and told him where to place them on the table. I could see my guests examine him as his broad bare brown feet padded across the floor.
All too conscious of their stares, he was vainly resplendent in the red laplap. He kept is eyes discreetly downcast. And a freshly opened, red hibiscus added the final touch to his gleaming black angel hair.
(ibid, p 152)
Mondays were DDT days, which meant that all louvers in the house had to be opened so that when the DDT truck came by, the thick cloud of spray would flow right through the house. While the small boys spluttered a bit, we were glad of this extra anti-malarial protection.
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 155)
Ori, the worth her weight in gold Ori, is taking young Timmy out for a ride on the coffee cart.
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 157)
Sometimes we were the butt of prejudice from teachers who believed that we all came from homes in which we were waited on hand and foot by servants. I always considered this to be highly unfair because, although we had a kukboi and hausmeri at Arau, my mother was very strict about the way my sister and I treated them. We were always responsible for tidying up after ourselves and we were never allowed to give orders.
(in Bourke et al. 1993, p 174)
