Dr Jonathan Ritchie will present his paper titled, ‘A Historical Study of Chinese Contributions to Papua New Guinea’s Economic Development’, at this week’s History Seminar Series (Wednesday, 11am).

Abstract

This paper will focus on three Papua New Guineans with Chinese heritage: the current Governor of PNG’s New Ireland Province, Sir Julius Chan; the late Sir Henry Chow; and Ms Helen Fong.  All three are descendants of the first immigrants from China who arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and all three have made, or are making still, substantial contributions to PNG’s economy and society.  At a time when significant attention is being given to commercial investment and official development assistance from the People’s Republic of China, reviewing the contributions made by these three people will remind us of the longevity of China’s involvement in this part of the Pacific.

Dr Ritchie is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. In this role he has helped to shape Deakin’s focus on using historical research to better comprehend contemporary social, political, and economic trends in Australia’s nearest neighbour and former colonial territory, Papua New Guinea.