Series 658 - Colebatch papers on Papua New Guinea

5 Type 1 boxes

Papers of Hal K. Colebatch and Peta Colebatch. The former was an Australian political scientist who taught in Papua New Guinea in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s, and was involved in the independence movement and subsequently electoral matters in the new state. His spouse Peta was a researcher and later a consumer advocate. The series consists mostly of subject files arranged by the Colebatches, plus a significant quantity of research papers by a variety of authors, mostly unpublished, on the subjects of Papua New Guinea, its independence from Australia in 1975, and related military matters, especially with respect to the Pacific Islands Regiment which moved from Australian to PNG service at the time. These latter were an object of detailed study by Peta Colebatch, who used the material for her 1974 dissertation “To find a path : the Army in Papua New Guinea.”

Among the highlights of the collection are the detailed interview notes and transcripts of over one hundred Australian ex-servicemen in Papua New Guinea. The series also contains materials relating to Papua New Guinea’s Rural Improvement Program, which was studied by H. K. Colebatch around 1975-76.

Other materials collected by both Hal and Peta are at UC Davis (see link below).

Researchers must sign an access agreement.

See Hal Colebatch Papers, MSS 40. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego, https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf4q2nb3v0/

See correspondence between H. K. Colebatch and John Ballard. Australian National University Archives, Canberra. https://archivescollection-anu-edu-au.virtual.anu.edu.au/index.php/correspondence-between-ballard-and-hal-k-colebatch

Current controlling entity: Australian National University

Created by C. Ziegler 12 November 2020. Revised David Romney Smith 21 January 2026.