C. A. W. Monckton (1873–1936)

The second volume in a series of memoirs by a resident magistrate in New Guinea in the last years of the 19th century, and the early years of the 20th century. Quite a bit different from the Soemerville & Ross series which has a similar title! Those of rather fragile disposition, who quail at stories of natives getting shot or chastised, may not find this at all to their taste; in fairness, Monckton notes (and mocks) those of similar points of view, expressed over 100 years ago. One item of interest is a description of a New Guinea tribe that lived in a wetlands type area -- a tribe that seems to have become extinct, making Monckton one of the few Europeans that saw them when they were alive. Some of the descriptions of the country would be all-too-familiar to those who fought in the area a few years after this edition was published. Recommended.… (meer)

This book (which is the first part of a two-part Penguin set from the 1930s) recounts the experiences of a young (20s-ish) man who went to New Guinea first as a gold miner, and then as a government official, in the last years of Queen Victoria's reign. The story is very much a Wild West kind of story, for better or for worse. Complete with a fair amount of gun-play, gold-mining, abusing the natives, the natives fighting the forces of law (or "law"), heroic figures, not-so-heroic figures, natural disasters, and the like. Monckton does not behave in a fashion that would win him plaudits in the 21st century, needless to say, though when this book first came out in 1920, few would have been concerned. As it is, it reads very well, quite grippingly, in fact. Still and all, in the back of your mind, you think that this fellow really isn't a role-model...… (meer)

A long while ago, I came across a two-volume set in a charity shop. The beaten up paperbacks had an intriguing title for someone about to head to work in Papua New Guinea: Some Experiences of a New Guinea Resident Magistrate. I devoured the set and found them fascinating. I was very annoyed to get to the ‘end’ and find that the narrative continued in a third volume which I would more than likely never come across. Imagine my delight when, discovering a Rare Books shelf in the branch library here in the Highlands of PNG, I found this book staring back at me. Wonderful!

I wasn’t far into this volume when I realised that the narrative simply wasn’t up to Monckton’s best. Although the events continue chronologically from the first book, they simply aren’t as gripping nor as bizarre. There are no sea-dwelling rats or phantoms passing through rooms. The closest I got to that was one of his carriers having a load of hardware removed from his stomach by a local faith healer.

Instead, this book is a bit piecemeal and in fact ends with a long and detailed list of animals that he’s documented which will only be of interest to the hardiest biologist. There are however, two great set pieces. Both of them are expeditions. The first is up to the summit of Mt Albert Edward which, at 4000m is no mean feat even today. In fact, Monckton’s was the first recorded ascent. The second adventure is an attempt to reach the German frontier deep into the interior of New Guinea and to return to the coast.

Both of these journeys are fraught with misery and conflict and you have to wonder why on earth people bothered doing them. Despite going into the back of beyond, Monckton runs into inhabited ridges left right and centre. At one point, he challenges ex-governor Murray’s statement that there are no inhabitants in the Highlands and says that he expected them to be densely inhabited. In this, he was something of a prophet. When the Highlands were first penetrated by whites in the 1930s, the did in fact find a million or so inhabitants who had no idea that the rest of the world had been going on for some time without them.

So, this is not Monckton at his best. For that, see my other review. But this is still vintage exploration and a glimpse into a New Guinea that, for better or worse, is long, long gone.… (meer)