Australia and the Pacific

AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC: THE AMBIVALENT PLACE OF PACIFIC PEOPLES WITHIN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA Scott William Mackay, BA (Hons), BSc July 2018 Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Australian Indigenous Studies Program School of Culture and Communication The University of Melbourne 0000-0002-5889 – Abstract – My thesis examines the places (real and symbolic) accorded to Pacific peoples within the historical production of an Australian nation and in the imaginary of Australian nationalism. It demonstrates how these places reflect and inform the ways in which Australia engages with the Pacific region, and the extent to which Australia considers itself a part of or apart from the Pacific. While acknowledging the important historical and contemporary differences between the New Zealand and Australian contexts, I deploy theoretical concepts and methods developed within the established field of New Zealand- centred Pacific Studies to identify and analyse what is occurring in the much less studied Australian-Pacific context. In contrast to official Australian discourse, the experiences of Pacific people in Australia are differentiated from those of other migrant communities because of: first, Australia’s colonial and neo-colonial histories of control over Pacific land and people; and second, Pacific peoples' important and unique kinships with Aboriginal Australians. Crucially the thesis emphasises the significant diversity (both cultural and national) of the Pacific experience in Australia. My argument is advanced first by a historicisation of Australia’s formal engagements with Pacific people, detailing intersecting narratives of their migration to Australia and Australia’s colonial and neo- colonial engagements within the Pacific region. This is followed by case studies of two celebrated sites of Australian “Pacificness”: first, a mapping of the involvement of Pacific players in the sport of rugby league in Australia; and second, an analytic record of Australia’s representation at the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts, held in the Solomon Islands in 2012. A Pacific Studies methodology is developed to provide a theoretically sound and empirically informed approach to Pacific research that distinguishes it from current studies in or of the Pacific. 2 – Declaration – This is to certify that: (i) the thesis comprises only my original work completed towards the total fulfilment of degree of Doctor of Philosophy; (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used; (iii) the thesis is fewer than the maximum word limit of 100,000 words, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Signed: Date: July 2018 3 – Acknowledgements – I would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation who are the traditional custodians of the land on which the majority of my PhD research was undertaken. I would like to pay respect to Kulin Elders past and present, and extend this respect to all Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people. I acknowledge that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sovereignty has never been ceded. I dedicate this PhD to my former teacher, mentor, work colleague and friend the late Associate Professor Teresia Teaiwa, and to my late father Eric Mackay. Teresia, as this thesis demonstrates you have had a profound impact on my life. I thank you for your continued belief in me and for opening doors that before meeting you were unimaginable; I hope I have done you proud with this research. Dad, thank you for instilling in me the values of hard work and humbleness. I love you and miss your presence greatly. It would not have been possible to undertake this thesis without the love and support of my partner Emily Hodgins. In the words of Kevin Durant, “you’re the real MVP” of this PhD, Emily. To Leroy (our dog) cheers for being the perfect calming influence during multiple bouts of writer’s block and for putting life into perspective in ways only a pet can. I would like to make specific mention of my friend Marion Campbell who has mentored me throughout the duration of the PhD. I cannot thank you enough for the time, thought and energy that you have dedicated to the thesis. Special thanks to my supervisor Philip Morrissey for your guidance. I am also appreciative of the broader academic opportunities that have been made available to me under your supervision. 4 To my Mum, brothers Rick and Andy, cousin Erika, friends Lilly Brown and Clinton Benjamin and other friends who are too many to name, I am so grateful for your support. You all have been integral in turning this dream into a reality. I would also like to thank Amie Batalibasi, Lisa Hilli and other members of Australia’s Pacific and Aboriginal Australian communities whom I interviewed formally or discussed the thesis with informally. I hope this thesis accurately reflects the multiple voices, experiences and views generously shared. And finally, I am appreciative of the scholarships granted me by the University of Melbourne. Without them I would not have been able to undertake this research. 5 – Contents – Abstract 2 Declaration 3 Acknowledgements 4 Map of the Pacific 7 Abbreviations 8 Introduction 9 Section One: Australia’s Formal Engagements with Pacific Peoples 28 1: Māori and the Colony of New South Wales (1778-1859) 30 2: South Sea Islanders and the Colony of Queensland (1859-1901) 39 3: White Australia and the Quest for an Island Empire (1901-1939) 57 4: Rupture, Assimilation and Decolonisation (1939-1973) 73 5: Multiculturalism, Self-determination and Regional Aid (1973-1996) 89 6: Pacific Migration to Australia (1996-2015) 108 7: National Security and Indigenous Rights (1996-2015) 127 Section Two: The Pacific Presence in Australian Rugby League 146 1: Rugby League’s Origin (1840-1908) 149 2: Racial Inclusion and Exclusion in the Formative Years (1908-1960) 159 3: Consolidating and Commercialising the Sport (1960-2015) 174 4: Browning and White Flight in New Zealand and Australia 191 5: The Pacific Threat to Australian Rugby League 200 6: Pacific Opportunities, Policies and Strategies 214 7: Consequences and Futures 226 Section Three: Australian Arts and Aid in the Solomon Islands 230 1. Introducing FOPA 231 2. The Solomon Islands 243 3: Australia and the Solomon Islands 255 4: RAMSI 2003-2015 264 5: FOPA 2012 279 6: Australia and FOPA 2012 291 7: Indigeneity and Pacific Identity 304 Conclusion 314 Works Cited 321 6 1 1 Map reproduced with permission. 7 – Abbreviations – AFL Australian Football League ANU Australian National University, Canberra ARL Australian Rugby League ARLC Australian Rugby League Commission ARLIC Australian Rugby League Indigenous Council ASSIUC Australian South Sea Islanders United Council ATSIC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission BRL Brisbane Rugby League CPAC Council of Pacific Arts and Culture CTF Combined Task Force DOGIT Deeds of Grant in Trust FAC Fiji Arts Council FCAA Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement FCAATSI Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders FOPA Festival of Pacific Arts GLF Guadalcanal Liberation Front IFM Isatabu Freedom Movement MEF Malaitan Eagle Force MRU Metropolitan Rugby Union NPARC Northern Peninsular Area Regional Council NRL National Rugby League competition NSWRFL, later NSWRL New South Wales Rugby (Football) League NSWRFU, later NSWRU New South Wales Rugby (Football) Union NU Northern Union NZRFU, later NZRU New Zealand Rugby (Football) Union PFF Police Field Force PIF Pacific Islands Forum PPF Participating Police Force PRAN Pacific Regional Assistance for Nauru QRFL, later QRL Queensland Rugby (Football) League RAMSI Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands RAP Reconciliation Action Plan RFL Rugby Football League RFU Rugby Football Union RSIP Royal Solomon Islands Police SCV Special Category Visa SPC Pacific Community SSGM State and Governance in Melanesia Program TSC Torres Shire Council TSIRC Torres Strait Island Regional Council TSRA Torres Strait Regional Authority TSRC Torres Strait Regional Council TTTA Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 8 – Introduction – At the dawn of a new millennium, Pacific Islanders continue a history of production and destruction through active participation in and resistance to a tide of forces that have swept our shores: colonialism, patriarchy, militarism, Christianity, nationhood, development, tourism, literacy, athletics, other forceful modes of modernity, and for us especially, scholarship.1 Over thousands of years Pacific peoples’ extraordinary seafaring abilities and remarkable adaptability to a range of climates and geographies has led to their successful settlement of the islands and atolls of the world’s largest body of water, the Pacific Ocean. In tracing pre-European Pacific migratory narratives, Kerry Howe identifies two waves of exploration and settlement agreed upon in academic research: the first occurred approximately 30,000 to 40,000 years ago via the exploratory drives of modern peoples inhabiting the northeastern tip of what was then the New Guinea-Torres Strait-Australia-Tasmania landmass of Sahul, island- hopping southeast, settling as far south as the Solomon Islands. The second and more extensive migration began some 5000 years ago, undertaken by Austronesian peoples departing from ancestral homelands of island southeast Asia (most commonly thought to be but not limited to Taiwan).2 Numerous Austronesian routes were

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