District Commissioner (1-Year Access)

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In 1963, Tom Ellis was the District Commissioner of the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. In this film, Tom describes how the Territory Administration is helping the people to adjust to a new way of life in the social and economic development of the area. We see patrol officers in the field presiding over trade negotiations, introducing new ways of agriculture and supervising the building and maintenance of roads and aerodromes. We observe children and their teachers in their new school classrooms, mothers and babies at community health clinics – all the necessary prerequisites of a successful, modern society.

(1963, 26 mins) An Australian National Film Board Production. Produced by the Australian Commonwealth Film Unit with the co-operation of the Department of Territories and the Department of the Administrator, Territory of Papua and New Guinea.

© National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.