Papers relate to McArthur’s work on population in the Pacific Islands, includes research notes and census data. Also includes copies of McArthur’s work 'Population of Pacific Islands' parts 1, 3, 6-9.

Research papers, drafts and notes on the Pacific Islands, with particular focus on the Cook Islands and Samoa relating to the publications Samoa 1830-1900, 1970 and The Cook Islands 1820-1950, 1980. Including material on Fiji, French Polynesia, Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (Kiribati), Niue and PNG. Papers relating to the German Administration of Western Samoa, translated into English by Mrs Trudi Newbury, and collected by R.P. Gilson from Archives New Zealand.

Documents and research notes relating to the Methodist Church in Papua New Guinea and Reverend Threlfall’s research on Papua New Guinea.

Items 1 - 14 : Methodist Mission Papers: Minutes and reports of New Britain District Synods, 1896 to 1941; including Study Papers presented to the 1932 Synod.
Items 15 - 24 : United Church Papers: Minutes of the New Guinea Islands Regional Synod of the United Church of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, 1969, 1971-75 and 1979-82.
Items 25 - 40: Early Contacts and Settlements: Including extracts from New Bedford Whalers’ Logs notes from the memoirs of Eduoard Hernsheim, etc.
Items 41 - 78: German New Guinea: Official reports and other documents. Chinese settlers (Cahill, Wu).
Items 79 - 88: World War I. The Expropriation of German Properties (including Pat Hopper’s thesis, 'Kicking out the Hun').
Items 89 - 99: The Australian Mandated Territory, between World Wars 1 and 2.
Items 100 - 119: Extracts from Albert Hahl, 'Governor in New Guinea'. More notes from the between-wars period.
Items 120 - 129: Geological and volcanic history, especially the 1937 and 1941-43 eruptions.
Items 130 - 142: Post-WWII material; in particular land claims and disputes on the Gazelle Peninsula; Gazelle Peninsula/Rabaul. Problems over land & multi-racial Gazelle Peninsula Local Government Council, murder of District Commissioner Jack Emanuel, the trial and notes on the Tolai situation and the establishment of provincial government.
Items 143 - 172: Gazelle Peninsula/Rabaul and the problems over land and the multi-racial council.
Items 173 - 200: Pre World War 2 material: defence arrangements in Rabaul 1939 - 1941, the Japanese invasion in January 1942, personal memoirs, interviews from persons from 1910 - post World War 2.
Items 201 - 225: Chronology of prisoners' movements, civilians and soldiers, the Chinese in Chinatown until 1943.
Items 226 - 278: Methodist and United Church Papers, notes on New Britain/New Ireland from church papers in the PNG Collection, University of Papua New Guinea Library.

Almost half of this record group is concerned with PNG. These papers were gathered when Ward was Lecturer in History at the University of Papua New Guinea and adviser to the Land Evaluation and Demarcation Project Study (LEAD). The collection includes correspondence, notes, articles and papers, draft legislation and press cuttings.

A small portion of these papers relate to politics and land matters in Australia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Africa, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Banaba, French Polynesia and Guadeloupe.

The remainder of the documents are mainly concerned with New Caledonia between 1947 and 1990 and were assembled by Ward at La Trobe University, Melbourne, through the 1980s, particularly during the years of political uncertainty in the French Territory from 1984 to 1990

Research papers and newspaper clippings mainly relating to France's role in the Pacific Islands. Countries include New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia and Tahiti.

Posters and publications on Papua New Guinea Independence