My writings

The small girl was excited.

The shape of the birthday gift suggested that it might be a new book. And it was!

Years later, now as a woman in my eighties, a new book still brings joy. Attempts to write my own stories began as a child and I discovered the joy of trying to use words to paint a picture and tell a story.

It was many years before I gained the confidence to put ‘Writer’ in the space marked ‘Occupation’ on forms. Since my first published book in 1972, I have produced another ten published books, nineteen chapters in other published books, a Master’s thesis in 1996, plus a range of articles, academic conference papers, studies, liturgical material and private family histories.

This site contains both published and unpublished works. They are in broad groups: Books (and book chapters); Histories (church and family) and Worship Resources (prayers, reflections and more).

The people of the PNG Highlands always knew stories of their ancestors. When strangers first came to the Southern Highlands, the local people told new stories about their first impressions of these outsiders. The newcomers were very interested and took photos and wrote letters.

I knew many of the old missionaries, and with others, have been collecting a few of the records so they will not be lost. They are part of the story of the Methodist Mission in Mendi and Tari, which later became United Church Highlands Region and United Church Hela Region.

The website is starting in 2024. It begins with memories from 1950 in Mendi.

At the moment, you will find stories about the first years of contact and some photo collections. Bit by bit, I will add more stories.