Abstract
The March 1945 Australian tour of the Royal Papuan Constabulary (RPC) Band offered Australians a vignette of Papuans’ progress since the Australian ‘civilising’ mandate began in 1906. After recounting the RPC Band’s origins and wartime propaganda role, this article examines the sponsors’ framing of the tour, the public’s responses to the visitors, and the outcomes of the trip for the musicians. The tour challenged Australians to rethink their sentimental appreciation of Papuans as ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’, while press reportage described both what was strange (language, recreation, diet, sleeping habits) and what was familiar (discipline, musical skill) about the visiting Papuans. Colonialist attitudes regarding race relations were also challenged during the tour. The RPC tour gave Papua New Guineans and Australians an unusual opportunity to see each other in a different light.
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