posted on 2024-11-12, 18:38authored bySusan Cochrane
The Papuan poet, John Kasaipwalova, once said, ‘I have left my footprints on your shore. The tide will come and wash them away, but the memories we share will linger on’.1 Think of how many Australians left their footprints on the shores and mountains of Papua New Guinea. Personal memories and historical events have been recorded, whether on film, like First Contact, the documentary about the Leahy brothers’ explorations in the New Guinea Highlands, or as stories collected in oral history series such as Tim Bowden’s ABC Radio broadcast series Taim Bilong Masta. Personal accounts have been written by individuals in every genre of literature, or simply treasured in family collections of photographs, artefacts and memorabilia.