Mccane Melanesianstories

Introduction Sydney, Australia 1952 The view from the small window of the Catalina Flying Boat as it approached the Harbour was stunning. Night had fallen. The lights of the city extended beyond the horizon like sparkling jewels. This was a sight too much to take in for young Henry and his three companions as they craned to get a clearer view of Sydney on this, their first trip to Australia. It was the first time that any of the young men had been away from their home island of Bougainville. The tone of the engines changed as the calm waters of Rose Bay came closer and the city lights became clearer. With a splash the Catalina touched down and cruised towards the terminal. It was Friday, 7 November, 1952. The four bewildered Bougainville boys left the aircraft and wandered into the terminal, where they were met by Brother Andrew Power, whom they already knew from his visits to their island as Provincial of the Marist Brothers. With Andrew was Brother Quentin Duffy, the Headmaster of St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, a school which shared its name with the boys' own school in Rigu, Central Bougainville. Quentin was the boys' host that evening. Henry was entranced by the lights of the city as they drove westwards towards Hunters Hill. On arrival at the Mark Street gates of the College, he was struck by the size and grandeur of the huge sandstone building in front of him. “My goodness, this is the tallest building in Australia, is it?” he asked the Provincial. “Henry, you will see much bigger buildings than this one tomorrow.” Quentin took Henry and his companions into a dormitory near the College chapel, which had been completed only twelve years earlier. The chapel was bigger and much grander than any church in Bougainville. The school holidays had begun and the dormitory was vacant. Not surprisingly, Henry didn't sleep well that first night in Introduction 1 Australia. Years later, he explained the bed was too soft, and he would have preferred the hard boards and his sleeping mat back in Togoikori Village in Siwai, south-west Bougainville. The following day the three young men took a train (another new experience) to Bowral in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, where the Juniorate, La Valla, was located. The Juniorate was a preparatory school for young men intending to join the Brothers. There they met the other juniors, including three young men from the South Solomons, one of whom was Benedito Laumanasa (later Brother Alphonsus, who died in 1967). Some weeks later, they were joined by three more Solomon Islanders, including Edwin Meresinihinua, who died in 2001 and is buried beside Alphonsus at Tenaru. A year later they were joined by two more Bougainvilleans, John Paul Mauro and Joseph Pulau. The number of Bougainvillean aspirants in Australia was then six, with another six from the South Solomons (Solomon Islands). Henry Kangku was eighteen years of age when he arrived in Sydney, his mind full of youthful enthusiasm and excitement as he began this new life, the beginning of his Marist journey. It was a courageous step. As his future unfolded, Henry would return to work among his own people, bringing to them the richness of the Marist spirit. In his lifetime he would be Brother and teacher to countless children in community schools, high schools and vocational centres in PNG and Solomons. He would learn to be a formator and assist with the formation of young aspirants in the postulancy and novitiate. He would see at first hand the changes taking place on his island as development came. He would become a victim of the Bougainville crisis (1989-1998), forced to flee into the bush, out of contact with his Brothers for two years at the height of the fighting. It was to be a richly rewarding life of service. Henry's story is one of many. That memorable arrival in Sydney in 1952 was also the beginning of Henry's journey into a previously unseen world of western culture. Regrettably, he would not see his home island again until the end of 2 Melanesian Stories 1961, nine years later. By then, he was a professed Marist Brother, with a new name, Bernard Kangku. Brother Bernard (Henry Kangku), Asitavi, Bougainville, 1998 Not only his name had changed. Henry, along with his companions, experienced a strange mixture of emotions on his return to the simple village life of Bougainville. He was now educated, sophisticated, westernized. His people respected him as a leader and a religious and genuinely rejoiced at his return, but they noticed that something important had changed. Henry was different now, different inside. He had gained something and lost something. In all the planning that had gone into preparing the young men for arrival in Australia, no one had Introduction 3 anticipated the difficulty of return. They had to re-learn their own culture which they had lost while they took on Australia's western ways. In many respects, returning was harder than leaving. The pain of that cultural confusion always remained with our pioneering Brothers. That part of our story lies in the pages ahead. This book tells the stories of those pioneering Melanesian Brothers, Henry Kangku (Brother Bernard), John Paul Mauro, Edwin Meresinihinua, Alphonsus Laumanasa and others. No less, it is the story of the many generous Melanesian men who have followed them in the way of Champagnat, the founder of the Marist Brothers. It is the story of how the Australian Marists, helped by other Brothers from far- off lands, brought the story of Champagnat to Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea and, in doing so, have discovered for themselves the richness of the cultures of these countries. In these pages you will find the stories of Melanesian Brothers and those who came from distant countries to live with them as their guests, their co-workers, their Brothers. It is the story of how the Melanesian cultures have encountered western culture in the context of Marist life and ministry. It is a story shaped by the dramatic events of the Second World War (1939-1945), the Bougainville crisis (1989-1998) and the Solomon Island tensions (2000-2003). With all its frustrations and delights, cultural mistakes and heroic generosity, this is our story of Marist Brotherhood in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea from 1835 to 2003. Stori bilong yumi. 4 Melanesian Stories Chapter 1 The Mission Begins 1835-1938 The Founder of the Marist Brothers was a French Marist priest, Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840). We know from Champagnat's letters and life story that he himself felt a keen desire to travel with his confreres to the distant lands of Oceania to work as a missionary. In fact he volunteered for this work, which Pope Gregory XVI assigned to the Marist group in 1836. Marcellin's life story tells us he “wanted to devote his last days and little remaining strength” to the peoples of Oceania. Bishop Pompallier and his group of Marists left France in December 1836, just a few years before Marcellin's death. At that time the Founder was fully occupied trying to obtain Government recognition for his fast- growing Institute, and caring for more than 170 Brothers spread throughout thirty-four establishments in five dioceses. By that time too, his health was deteriorating. Reluctantly, he accepted the advice of his superior, Father Colin, who asked him to stay in France with his Brothers rather than go to Oceania. Instead, Champagnat selected three of his Brothers to accompany the first Marist Fathers to the Pacific and in 1838 and 1839 he sent six more Brothers to the Marist Oceania missions. Over the following twenty years, thirty-four Marist Brothers worked in the scattered outposts of the Pacific. Marcellin's correspondence to Bishop Pompallier and his regular mention of the missionary work in his letters to the Brothers show Marcellin's passion to bring the message of the Gospel to new lands. “Our plans include all the dioceses of the world,” he wrote in 1837. The Founder died in 1840. Problems Faced by Early Marists – The Missionaries Depart The Founder, with all the French Marists, was enthusiastic about the Oceania project. Yet, in Western Oceania the mission had a catastrophic beginning, resulting in the withdrawal of the Marists from Solomons The Mission Begins 5 Islands in 1847, less than two years after their arrival. A combination of tropical diseases and disastrous relationships with the local people forced the eventual evacuation of the few sickly missionaries who had survived the ravages of malaria and hostilities with the villagers. During their brief presence in the region, they established temporary missions on San Cristobal (Solomons), Woodlark Island (Muyuw) near the Trobriands in what is now Milne Bay Province of PNG, and Rooke Island (Umboi), in what is now Morobe Province, PNG. The Marists left Woodlark in November 1853. Woodlark and Rooke Island missions struggled on for a further three years with Italian missionaries, but they too were beaten by malaria and their inability to form successful relationships with the Islanders. With the advantage of hindsight we can see the tragic waste of that failed first mission, no doubt motivated by deep faith in the gospel imperative to evangelise the world, but tarnished by colonialism, and a belief that our people in Melanesia were inferior and primitive. Several missionaries fell victim to violent acts, provoked by a desire to protect land, customs and traditional beliefs, or in retaliation for perceived wrongs. It was only when the authentic Marist vision of equality, respect and good relationships prevailed that the missionaries found that they were welcome in these lands.

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