THE INVISIBILITY OF GOSPEL PLOUGHMEN: THE IMAGING OF SOUTH SEA PASTORS IN PAPUA

Authors

Max Quanchi, Queensland University of Technology

Abstract

South Sea Islanders serving in missions in Papua were visible in their journey to Papua, in their work as pioneers opening up new missions along the coast and inland, and in their immersion in local communities. Travelers, administration officials, and European missionaries in Papua reported meeting these “gospel ploughmen” and “admirable frontiersmen” and relied on them for assistance with transport, accommodation, translating, collecting, and personal and official business. They were an integral part of the European world, though marginalized by position, rank, skin color, language, and ethnic origin. The schools, churches, and chapels they built were usually the only substantial buildings using European materials or architecture. When dressed for visitors in their white trousers, lap-laps, and shirts, they stood out among partly clothed Papuan converts, students, and neighbors and were recorded in this space by photographers. Present but not acknowledged in the visual imaging of colonial Papua, they are only apparent on the edge of the print and on the edge of histories of missions.

Recommended Citation

Quanchi, Max (1997) "THE INVISIBILITY OF GOSPEL PLOUGHMEN: THE IMAGING OF SOUTH SEA PASTORS IN PAPUA," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 20: No. 4, Article 8.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol20/iss4/8