Papua New Guinea celebrates 50 years of independence in September 2025.
To mark this occasion, our latest exhibition, Our Nearest Neighbour: Exploring the Historical Relationship Between Papua New Guinea and the ANU, has just opened in the Menzies Library.
The exhibition includes items from our Pacific Research Archive, one of the largest collections of archival records about Pacific Island Nations and States, alongside related objects from the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology.
The Pacific Research Archive holds an important and diverse collection of records relating to Papua New Guinea from ANU academics, colonial administrators, missionaries, and activists including research papers, photographs, and audio-visual items.
Collections featured in the exhibition are from:
Anthropologist and linguists Stephen Wurm and Helen Groger-Wurm,
Geographer Bryant Allen,
Political scientist John Ballard,
Political scientist and diplomat David Hegarty,
Historian and educator Hank Nelson,
Anthropologist Marie Reay,
Medical Anthropologist Carol Jenkins,
Medical doctor Ian Maddocks and Diana Maddocks,
Missionary Father Kevin Kurley,
Archaeologist Matthew Spriggs,
Historian Alan Ward, and
Geographers Marion and Gerard Ward.
Our Nearest Neighbour: Exploring the Historical Relationship Between Papua New Guinea and the ANU, is now on display in the Menzies Library. An online version of the exhibition will be available on the ANU Archives website after the exhibition closes in early 2026.
See more of the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology collections on their website - https://archanthcollections.weblogs.anu.edu.au/
