Böcker utgivna av Masalai Press

Papua New Guinea is commonly thought to be a land without railways. At the very least, railways do not immediately come to mind as a topic for historical research in Papua New Guinea. Nevertheless, we set out to document and record something of the history of local railways in 1971, initially as individual projects. Inevitably, our interest in the topic of railways brought us together and we have been working collaboratively on our research since 1980.At first the task was to identify and document the railways which have operated in Papua New Guinea. To our surprise, we now have records of some 150 railway lines, many of them small hand-pushed operations from a jetty to a copra store or around a sawmill. Others have yielded fascinating stories of more substantial enterprises and the endeavours of colonial pioneers at the frontier.As we brought the material together we began to realise that we not only had stories about small railway operations around the country, but we also had the basis for a new look at some basic elements of Papua New Guinea economic history. Through the story of railways we had identified important themes which helped us learn about the economic conditions of today from the experience of the past.

Pacific Island Artists Navigating the Global Art World brings together artists, academics, museum curators and gallery owners to discuss the creation and promotion of contemporary Pacific arts in the global art world.Addressing art production from across the Pacific region (Australia, Papua, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Rotuma, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Guam, Hawaii, and the Northwest Coast of Canada) this volume examines how these arts are exhibited and marketed on a world stage. It provides the opportunity for a global dialogue concerning contemporary indigenous arts while it explores the diversity and complexities of contemporary Pacific art. In so doing, these contributors confront a variety of issues associated with the production, marketing and acceptance of indigenous arts in a global art world.

World War Two history remembers the Gilbert Islands for the Battle of Tarawa, the US Marines'' first bold amphibious assault against a Japanese stronghold in the Pacific Islands. But there is much more to the WWII story of the Gilbert Islands than a single battle. In addition to the Battle of Tarawa, this book also tells of the periods of Japanese and American occupations, of coast-watching and German raiders. This history of a time and place is also a story of the people involved. In addition to the Americans and Japanese it is also the story of Gilbert and Ellice Islanders, New Zealanders, British, Chinese, German-Marshallese and "Kai Viti" people (British Fiji Citizens), who by one means or another became caught up in the war in the Gilbert Islands.The author has used oral and written accounts of people who were directly involved, as well as official records in archives in Kiribati, Fiji, Tuvalu, New Zealand, the United States and Australia. This is a thoroughly researched, comprehensive and unique account of WWII as experienced in these small and remote atolls of the Central Pacific.