Table Of Content

pacific islands studies/history/environmental studies NATIVES Ambitious in its scope and scale, this environmental history of World War II ranges over rear bases and operational fronts from Bora Bora to New Guinea, providing a lucid analysis of resource exploitation, entangled wartime poli- AND tics, and human perceptions of the vast Oceanic environment. Although the EXOTICS war’s physical impact proved significant and oftentimes enduring, this study shows that the tropical environment offered its own challenges: Unfamiliar tides left landing craft stranded; unseen microbes carrying endemic diseases disabled thousands of troops. Weather, terrain, plants, animals—all played an active role as enemy or ally. World War II and Environment in the Southern Pacific At the heart of Natives and Exotics is the author’s analysis of the changing visions and perceptions of the environment, not only among the millions of combatants but also among the Pacific islands’ peoples and their colonial EN administrations in wartime and beyond. Judith Bennett reveals how prewar notions of a paradisiacal Pacific set up millions of Americans, Australians, X New Zealanders, and Japanese for grave disappointment when they encoun- A tered the reality. She shows that objects usually considered distinct from environmental concerns (souvenirs, cemeteries, war memorials) warrant further OT examination as the emotional quintessence of events in a particular place. A Among native people, wartime experiences and resource utilization induced NI T a shift in environmental perceptions just as the postwar colonial agenda D V demanded increased diversification of the resource base. Bennett’s ability to reappraise such human perceptions and productions with an environmental I lens is one of the unique qualities of this study. CE Impeccably researched, Natives and Exotics is essential reading for those in- S S terested in environmental history, Pacific studies, and a different kind of war story that has surprising relevance for today’s concerns with global warming. Judith A. Bennett is associate professor of history and associate dean of graduate studies at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. b Cover art: Patrol Resting by James Cook, 1945. e Courtesy of Australian War Memorial n n Cover design by Santos Barbasa Jr. e t t ISBN 978-0-8248-3350-3 90000 University of Hawai‘i Press judith a. bennett Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822-1888 9 780824 833503 www.uhpress.hawaii.edu Natives and Exotics Natives and Exotics • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • WORLD WAR II AND ENVIRONMENT IN THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC Judith A. Bennett University of Hawai‘i Press honolulu © 2009 University of Hawai‘i Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 14 13 12 11 10 09 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bennett, Judith A. Natives and exotics : World War II and environment in the southern Pacific / Judith A. Bennett. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8248-3265-0 (hard cover : alk. paper)— ISBN 978-0-8248-3350-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. World War, 1939–1945—Environmental aspects—Oceania. 2. Oceania—Environmental conditions. 3. Natural resources— Oceanic—History—20th century. 4. Human ecology—Oceania— History—20th century. 5. Nature—Effect of human beings on—Oceania—History—20th century. 6. Oceania–Social conditions—20th century. 7. United States. Army—History— World War, 1939–1945. 8. United States—Relations—Oceanic. 9. Oceania—Relations—United States. 10. World War, 1939– 1945—Political aspects—Oceania. I. Title. D767.9.B46 2009 940.53'1—dc22 2009000222 University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources. Designed by University of Hawai‘i Press production staff Printed by The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group To the memory of my maternal grandfather, Godfrey James Collins, “D” Company, 25th Infantry Battalion, 1st AIF, who served at Gallipoli during World War I and on garrison duty in Australia in World War II. To my uncles who served in World War II: the late Ashley Collins, in the 11th Infantry Battalion, AIF in Australia, so keen to serve that he subtracted a year from his date of birth; the late Noel Collins, Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment at Milne Bay, Papua, and then the 1st Australian Parachute Battalion in the Pacific and Singapore; Eric Collins, Leading Aircraftman, in the Philippines; and Mervyn Collins, who served six years in the AIF in the 1950s. And to Heather’s lost “malini,” Wayne (Ab) Abbey, submariner, U.S. Navy, and to all the other mothers’ darlings the war took away. Contents Acknowledgments / ix Currency, Measurement, and Place-Names / xiii Abbreviations / xv Preface: Was the Environment a Stage or an Actor? / xix Prologue The Great Ocean: How Others Tried to Ride Its Waves / 1 Part I Encountering Pacific Environments 1. Imagining Landscapes / 11 2. Peopling the Southern Pacific / 28 3. Diseased Environments / 49 Part II Using Indigenous Resources 4. Local Resources: Living off Land and Sea / 75 5. Taking Stock: Building for Battle / 97 6. Resources for the Metropole: Trade for the Periphery / 115 7. The Human Resource / 133 Part III Exiting Environment, Leaving Residues 8. Paying for the Damages / 157 9. Close Out: Quitting the Islands / 179 10. Leavings on Landscape / 198 11. Legacies and Visions / 219 viii Contents Part IV Embodying War’s Environment 12. Remembering Place: The Use of Souvenirs / 243 13. Places of Memory, Sites of Forgetting / 268 Conclusion / 291 Notes / 307 Bibliography / 393 Index / 425 Acknowledgments Many have assisted with the production of this book. Sincere thanks to many friends, colleagues, supporters, scholars, war buffs, librarians, curators, and archivists for help, advice, hospitality, and encouragement—Tim Bayliss-Smith, Mary Braun, Barbara Brookes, Tom Brooking, John Broadbent, Fred Brooks, Steve Bullard, Les Carron, L. L. (Bill) Callow, Lin Chapman, Kathy O’Connor, Julie Cronin, Paul D’Arcy, Robert Desowitz, the late Reece Discombe, Bronwen and Charles Douglas, Philip Endean, Simon Foale, David Friswell, David Gegeo, Kar- en-Ann Gegeo, Bruce Harding, Cathy Hermes, Christina Hellmich, Jo and John Herlihy, Ulrike Hertel, David Hilliard, Dolores Ho, Stephen Innes, Janey Jackson, Christopher Johnson, Russell Johnson, Stephen Jones, Windsor Jones, Kehaulani Kauanui, Jean Kennedy, Laura Kessel, Mecki Kronen, Virginia Krumholz, Ismet Kurtovich, the late Bob Langdon, Fanaafi Aiono-Le Tagaloa Sr., Fanaafi Aiono- Le Tagaloa Jr., Kristen Mable, David and Gundi McKean, Natalie Mahony, Ewan Maidment, Alex Maravel, Mac Marshall, Jocelyn Maughan, Sharon Dean May, Clive Moore, Karen Nero, Dorothee Pauli, Karen Peacock, Brian and Liz Ponter, Dorothy Prince, Joseph Sanchez, Bunny Schlaffer, Mark Seymour, Barry Shineberg, Takashi Shogiman, Peter Stanley, Ewan Stevenson, Annie Stuart, Tony Sweeney, John Spurway, Peter Stanley, Jim Tedder, Andrew Thornley, Tauga Vulaono, Sandy Walker, Anni Watkins, Alfred Weinzierl, Mary Wolfskill, and Elizabeth Wood-El- lem. And thanks to Khyla Russell for her generous assistance with copying records in the United States and England and her support in places distant from Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island). Special appreciation goes to Gavan Daws, Ian Campbell, Hank Nelson, Ken Inglis, Neil Clayton, and the press’s readers for their valuable comments on all or substantial parts of an earlier draft. All its errors and imperfections are mine, not theirs. This book owes much to the History Department, the Division of Humani- ties, and the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, for funding support ix