National Archives of Australia
On Patrol in Papua New Guinea
19 October 2010 to 31 August 2012
National Archives of Australia
Queen Victoria Terrace
Parkes ACT 2600
Before Papua New Guinea gained independence in 1975, thousands of Australian men took on the challenge to forge careers as patrol officers, or ‘Kiaps’. The pidgin term kiap is derived from the German word for captain, kapitän.
A larger selection of photographs can be viewed on our flickr site. We've included some of the information provided by visitors to that site on these pages and in our exhibition display.
On dental patrol, 1948
Payday for medical services, 1948
School for Kiaps, 1960
Sogeri barracks, 1950
Aiome Patrol Post, 1956
Meeting at Pila Pila, 1950
Kula canoe, 1948
Summit meeting, 1948
Ceremonial exchange, 1950
Yam storehouse, 1948
Bartering for vegetables, 1950
John Guise, 1964
