In February 1949, Reg Thomson arrived at ASOPA to train to teach in PNG. At the time Alf Conlon was Principal and Camilla Wedgwood lectured on anthropology and education. Reg writes of his experiences at the School in a chapter of an unpublished manuscript, ‘Looking For A Good Book’. Reg, who’s now pushing 90, lives on the Gold Coast.

I've just read the ASOPA chapter and was thrilled to get a first hand account of the School's early days. Reg was there when Conlon was squeezed out by James MacAuley and other staff, with John Kerr organising the exit strategy (reminded me of 1975). Fascinating stuff. When I get approval from Reg I’ll run extracts in ASOPA PEOPLE and The Mail – but here’s a foretaste.

“The student body was made up of five other aspiring Education Officers, 14 serving officers of the Department of Native Affairs in their second year of a two-year Diploma Course, and three young Forestry Officers. Most of us were billeted in Army huts at Middle Head. Alf took no part in the teaching.

“The education group had the Honourable Camilla Wedgwood as its guide and friend. A daughter of Lord Wedgwood, the pottery king, she wore her ‘Honourable’ very casually, rolling her own cigarettes and showing a good length of bloomer when hopping over her window sill as a short cut into her room. She was no beauty but her rugged features lit up when she smiled, which was often. She was kind, helpful, and erudite.

“Her special interest in native education led to her becoming a main contender for the job of Director of Education in Papua New Guinea, which eventually went to Bill Groves, who had taught in Rabaul before the war and written a book on his plans for education in Papua New Guinea. Bill had spent the war years as a Major in the Army Education Unit, holding an Honours Degree in Anthropology from Melbourne University.

“Our course was centred on comparative studies of education in the colonies of the world, social anthropology, the geography, flora and fauna of Papua New Guinea, colonial administration, language studies, and the techniques of communication.

“My group were all trained teachers, which caused me some concern over the direction I was heading. At Camilla's suggestion I wrote to Bill Groves, pointing out I was not a teacher, although I felt I had something to offer the country. He, in turn spoke to Colonel Murray, the Administrator, who agreed there was room in Papua New Guinea for a person with my interests, directing that a special position of Senior Welfare Officer be created.”