The Prize was also to spin off an array of other attractions, most profoundly Pukpuk Publishing under the steady hand of Fitzpatrick, writers’ workshops, literary visits to Australia

2010: WHEN IT ALL BEGAN

It’s a story Phil Fitzpatrick and I once told often – how was it that the Crocodile Prize, in its time a pearl in the necklace of PNG literature, happened at all.

Well it nearly didn’t happen because it was first mooted to me by Phil in an email that had a kind of jokey tone about it. Phil later wrote of this moment:

“As I worked on my Post-Courier article on the sad disappearance of an Indigenous literature in Papua New Guinea, Keith and I conducted a discussion by email on the same subject during which I suggested - half jocularly – that we should initiate some sort of writing contest using PNG Attitude as the promotional spearhead and seeking the support of the Post-Courier as a paper-based publishing outlet.

“Keith responded quickly and positively and, when we shared our thoughts on PNG Attitude, readers also expressed enthusiasm and support for the idea. I said I’d kick in $100 towards an annual prize for an unpublished PNG novel. Robin Lillicrap [a reader] matched it and Keith doubled it. Reg Renagi [a reader] suggested a short story prize. I began to talk of an anthology.” (Fighting for a Voice by Philip Fitzpatrick, page 79)

A media release told of what happened next:

“A writing contest for Papua New Guinean writers was established today by the PNG Post-Courier and Australian website PNG Attitude. The Crocodile Prize, as the contest is called, is named after the first novel written by a Papua New Guinean, Vincent Eri’s The Crocodile, published in 1970. The competition has three categories - for short stories, poetry and journalism. A first prize of K1,000 will be awarded in each category and the Post-Courier will publish the best entries.”

The Crocodile Drags in a Controversial Prize

Bernard Sinai writes:

“The recent literary competition, The Crocodile Prize, is bringing the best out of Papua New Guinea. There have been several entries posted on Keith Jackson’s PNG Attitude blog that are world class. I recently had one of my poems published on the site.

“Philip Fitzpatrick of South Pacific Social Solutions is a judge in the competition and states that “the genres and styles of the writers entering the competition is nicely varied.”

“Among the entries posted this week is a short story, The Death of a Warrior, by Jeffrey Febi which deals with the controversial and sensitive issue of cannibalism. Already the story has caused a stir and comments accusing it of a ‘little distaste’.”

2011: INAUGURAL YEAR

The first awards ceremony was held at the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby which, under high commissioner Ian Kemish, provided great support to the Prize. Sadly, his successor was to withdraw that support for no reason she saw fit to reveal.

The first ceremony also featured the launch of the Crocodile Prize Anthology 2011, a 190-page collection of the competition's best writing. From that point, the Anthology was to be published each year until 2016.

The inaugural Crocodile Prize awards ceremony and book launch by Lady Margaret Eri of Crocodile Prize Anthology 2011, a book of the best writing from the first year of the contest, has shone a light on Papua New Guinea’s writers, elsewhere termed ‘society’s conscience’.

The Anthology included voices that took deep dives into the realities of life in Papua New Guinea, such as that of Martyn Namorong, who wrote in his winning essay, ‘The Political Economy of Everything That's Wrong in Developing PNG’:

“I don’t dream anymore, I am grounded in reality. I grapple with the facts as they are. Perhaps there are too many visionaries and dreamers such that no one is there to deal with the reality of life in Papua New Guinea. Even a vast majority of people who are trapped like me do not wish to deal with reality.”

2012: DIGITAL GROWTH

Interest in the competition grew quickly and there was a fourfold increase in entries in 2012, as well as significant financial support coming from PNG companies.

This explosion of entries could be attributed both to the digital revolution (increased access to the internet and the advent of social media) and to PNG Attitude which heavily promoted the contest and published many entries.

The 2012 Anthology reflected PNG’s political upheaval, with many entries addressing that year’s parliamentary, judicial, and constitutional challenges.

Authentic Melanesian flavours shine through

Philip Fitzpatrick wrote:

“This will be remembered as a tumultuous year in Papua New Guinea: a year of political upheaval and uncertainty where the very fabric of parliament, the courts and even the Constitution were tested. As you read the Crocodile Prize Anthology 2012, you will see how these events have coloured the stories, poems and articles.

“Now in its second year, The Prize has been a beneficiary of the digital revolution. This is demonstrated both in a fourfold leap in the number of entrants and entries and also in the subject matter. A significant number of stories and articles published on the PNG Attitude blog during 2012 were derived from the contest.

“Many new writers, seeing their work published for the first time, were motivated to continue submitting material to the blog and now well over half of its content originates in Papua New Guinea.”

2013: BUILDING A LITERARY HERITAGE

An attempt to transfer the management of the Crocodile Prize to an Indigenous association did not succeed and it seemed for a moment that the Prize would fail.

At the last minute, a third Anthology was produced with 51 new stories, essays, and poems from 18 authors in its 168 pages. The organisers reinforced their commitment to publishing worthy writing and contributing to PNG's literary heritage as a nation-building endeavour.

Intriguing compendium of Melanesian writing

The Crocodile Prize Anthology 2013 includes an abundance of original writing from Papua New Guinea. It is fulfilling our side of a deal we made with PNG writers in 2010, which was if they created something of worth we would publish it.

“We started the contest to provide an opportunity for PNG writers to publish their work and for readers to have access to that work,” said Phil Fitzpatrick. “We want to encourage writers to write and readers to read. Ensuring that PNG has its own written literature is a nation-building task.”

2014: PEAK ACHIEVEMENT

After a rather shaky 2013, the Prize returned with a crocodile roar in 2014, and so did the Anthology which offered a blockbusting 500 plus pages of Papua New Guinean literature. Apart from its bulk, the book became highly praised for its world-class poetry and forthright journalism.

This year marked the competition's high point. The writers’ workshop – which had become a popular daytime addition to awards night – was led by Trevor Shearston and Philip Fitzpatrick, two Australian authors who had written beautifully and with great credibility about PNG as part of their oeuvre. Notable speakers at the awards ceremony were planning minister Charles Abel and Oro governor Gary Juffa. And did I mention that 500 page Anthology….

PNG literature’s one day of the year

Largely thanks to Ruth Moiam’s assiduous work, all is in readiness for what will be two wonderful events: the Writers Workshop (special guest Trevor Shearston), fully subscribed with 30 participants, and the Awards Ceremony at the Australian High Commission before an invited audience of 80.

The Crocodile Prize Anthology 2014 at more than 500 pages is the biggest yet and the quality of the writing the best we've seen. The poetry is world class and the essays and journalism pull few punches about what needs to be done to set the country to rights.

The organisers of the Crocodile Prize need to take a bow. Their efforts have unearthed some talented writers and what they have to say makes for great reading. If you want to understand present day PNG and be richly entertained, this book is for you.

2015: PROBLEMS EMERGE

While the fifth year of the Prize maintained strong numbers of writers and excellent content quality, the contest itself faced significant challenges, particularly because of the withdrawal of Australian High Commission support and also because Phil and I were experiencing problems in handing over the administration of the Prize to Papua New Guinean leadership, which proved a difficulty that could not be overcome.

Is the wondrous journey about to end?

“This is the fifth year that the Crocodile Prize Anthology has been published. It is also a milestone because literary endeavours in Papua New Guinea are not renowned for their longevity and five years can be a long haul. There has been no waning in the quantity or quality of the entries or in the number of new writers entering the competition. The judges continue to be amazed at this impressive output.

“All this should have boded well for continuing to build a written literary culture in PNG but the withdrawal of support by the Australian High Commission was both a major disappointment and a big blow to the Prize. This came at a time when the Australian government seemed intent upon demonstrating a meanness of spirit in its attitude to development aid in general. And try as PNG’s authors might, despite a number of attempts to establish a PNG-based organisation to manage the Crocodile Prize and its associated projects, their efforts to put in place a sustainable organisation was proving to be unsuccessful.

2016: BAMAHUTA AND GOOD LUCK

The organising committee failed at its third attempt to transfer the Prize to Papua New Guinean management. It was just too hard to maintain a self-supporting non-commercial entity. However, Phil Fitzpatrick, Emmanuel Peni and a small team of workers produced the sixth Anthology - 180 pages of original writing featuring 27 poems as well as essays and short stories.

There were contributions from the cream of Papua New Guinean writers – the late Francis Nii, Martyn Namorong, Michael Dom, Marlene Dee Gray Potoura, Dominica Are, Caroline Evari, Alexander Nara and Arnold Mundua.

Phil Fitzpatrick wrote the book about the books

 “For most Australians, Papua New Guinea is a mysterious place located somewhere north of Cape York and roughly between Bali and Fiji. It is not too cruel to say it sits at the bottom of their consciousness.

“Papua New Guineans, on the other hand, know a lot about Australia. And there is a small band of Australians who worked in PNG before independence in 1975 for whom it sits permanently and warmly in their memory.

“For them, and for many Papua New Guineans, it is an enduring mystery why the two nations, so physically close and with a colourful shared history, don't have a stronger relationship. The story of PNG Attitude and the Crocodile Prize points to what is possible when the right people get together to make things happen.

“In ‘Fighting for a Voice: The Inside Story of PNG Attitude and the Crocodile Prize’ I relate the fascinating story of PNG Attitude and the Crocodile Prize and reveal what happened to bring the Prize to an end after such a promising start.”

LEGACY

Despite attempts to establish a PNG-based organisation to manage the Prize and its associated projects, PNG's second literary revival effectively ended in 2016. The competition's impact was documented in two subsequent publications:

1. "Fighting for a Voice: The Inside Story of PNG Attitude and the Crocodile Prize" (2016) by Philip Fitzpatrick
   
   
2. "Top Crocs: The Winning Entries from PNG's National Literature Competition, the Crocodile Prize 2011-2015" (2017) by Philip Fitzpatrick & Keith Jackson

The Crocodile Prize demonstrated the potential for cultural collaboration between Australia and Papua New Guinea, while highlighting the challenges of sustaining literary initiatives in developing nations.

Though the competition ended, it succeeded in providing a platform for PNG writers and contributing to the country's literary heritage during its six active years and beyond. The annual competition, prizes, writers’ workshops, anthologies, promotion and book publishing were all carried out on an unpaid voluntary basis with tens of thousands of dollars support from private sponsors. In 2016 efforts to transition the competition into Papua New Guinean hands failed. The support, generous as it was, proved insufficient to establish the permanent organisation required to manage the Prize.

And the PNG government? We tried. It was not interested. Probably couldn’t see where the money was.

And the legacy? It continues. You can’t stop a writer from writing. There is a struggle to be published. But it does happen. And the writers will still be there when the next revival comes along.

Original Writing: Summary in numbers