The Kiap’s Wife - Philip Fitzpatrick

When patrol officer Jack Forrest is transferred from the highlands to the backwaters of a sub-district somewhere on the coast of New Britain in 1965, he wonders what is in store for him.

So too do the adopted daughters of the local missionary. Rescued from the clutches of a malevolent sorcerer in their home village as toddlers they have been brought up as Europeans but still cling to their cultural roots.

This is a story about the kiaps and the people with whom they worked in Papua New Guinea prior to Independence in 1975. It is an offbeat story of romance entwined with history.

During the 1960s great social change was sweeping through countries like Australia and was reflected in the attitudes of many kiaps, particularly those with a liberal bent. Old ideas about colonialism and interracial relations were being questioned and found wanting. At the same time a steady but growing band of locally recruited Papua New Guinean kiaps were entering the service.

The serious possibility of self-government and independence was also beginning to be discussed, not only in Canberra but also among the nascent elite of the country, creating both uncertainty and a certain kind of tension among many kiaps.

These developments were not generally reflected among those not working at the coal face of field administration or engaged in private enterprise, where old ideas about racial inferiority and the ability of Papua New Guineans to govern themselves persisted. All these things make the 1960s a significant inflection point in the history of the Australian and Papua New Guinean relationship and informs the fictional events depicted in the story.

This book is an attempt to weave a sense of those times through an otherwise fictional work.

ISBN: 979-8850819989 Independently Published (2023)Fiction, 370 pagesAvailable from Amazon Australia Cost: Paperback $19.36, Kindle $1.00