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Nostalgia for Rabaul 1
Author(s) -
Neumann Klaus
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1834-4461
pISSN - 0029-8077
DOI - 10.1002/j.1834-4461.1997.tb02603.x
Subject(s) - new guinea , refugee , ethnology , symbol (formal) , history , geography , archaeology , computer science , programming language
In September 1994, an eruption of the Rabaul Volcano in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, devastated the town of Rabaul and many surrounding Tolai villages. Many villagers were resettled or lived in refugee camps far from their homes. Many non‐Tolai residents of Rabaul were repatriated to other parts of Papua New Guinea. Tolai villagers and former residents of Rabaul, be they Papua New Guineans or expatriates, mourned the passing of ‘Rabaul’. This article examines the different nostalgias for Rabaul which are articulated in the Australian print media, by Tolai villagers, and by migrants from the Sepik provinces who had lived in Rabaul prior to the eruption. The article concludes with a reflection on Rabaul as a symbol for the Papua New Guinean nation.