Educating soldier-citizens: conscripted teachers in Papua New Guinea 1966-1973

Abstract

Between 1965 and 1972, the Australian Government undertook a scheme of National Service, selecting 20-year-old men by ballot for 2-year terms in the Australian Army. Almost 64,000 men were called up, including some 300 school teachers who were posted to the Territory of Papua and New Guinea (TPNG) with the Royal Australian Army Educational Corps, for 12-month terms. Their task was to provide a general education to indigenous troops of the 3000-strong Pacific Islands Regiment in what turned out to be the years leading up to Papua New Guinea’s self-government and independence. This article describes how this previously undocumented educational ‘scheme’ evolved as a result of a response to circumstances rather than strategic planning, identifies the key roles played by Army leaders and presents the recollections of more than 70 of those former conscripted teachers, obtained through a recent survey, about their role. The article concludes that the scheme was based on the belief that education had a significant role in developing an army loyal to the government of an emerging nation, was a unique development in Australian Army Education, especially in developing ‘soldier-citizens’, and relied on a vision within the Army leadership in TPNG that was ahead of the Australian Government.