RABAUL IN SONG & FILM

Renowned US guitarist Bob Brozman travelled to Rabaul with film maker Phil Donnison (ASOPA education lecturer Norm Donnison’s son) to capture on DVD and CD the sound of Rabaul’s local string bands. The music reflects an unfailing optimism in the face of war and volcanic eruptions that have destroyed the town twice in one century.

Phil Donnison writes: "I first went to Papua New Guinea as a teenager in 1960 when my father was sent to run an expatriate teacher training course at Malaguna Technical College in Rabaul, East New Britain.

"There were a number of other significant firsts for me in that year; it was my first trip in an airplane; my first overseas trip; the first time to experience the tropics in all its sweat, vibrancy and colour; and it was the first time I passed Latin.

"Rabaul was a flower-laden paradise. The wide streets, engineered by its German colonial masters, were lined with magnificent trees – mangos, casuarinas and kapoks, giant fragrant frangipanis and sizzling flames. Surrounding its magnificent harbour were no less than five volcanoes. One, Tavurvur, was still semi-active, with sulphurous, stinking steam wafting over the town when the trade winds blew in the right direction.

"The Tolai people were colourful, handsome and happy. Reminders of the Japanese and Australian involvement in the last World War were scattered along the beaches and in the dense jungle clad hills and mountains. We climbed inside the crater of Tavurvur, snorkelled on the reefs, swam amongst myriad colourful fish, visited villages, copra and cocoa plantations, and browsed the many Chinese trade stores – overflowing with amazing treasures from the east. We played with the village kids who showed us hidden paths in their secret jungles, visited the markets, ventured into Japanese tunnels and practised our Pidgin."

You can read more and order Songs of the Volcano at Bob Brozman’s website here. The cost of the DVD/CD set is reasonably priced at about $35 Australian including postage and packing.