Sandalwood Trade Research Articles

He Inoa 'Ala: Scent, Memory, and Identity in Indigenous Comics

Abstract: More than any other of the bodily senses, Native Hawaiians rely on scent to navigate the world around us: it is the form through which we understand the language of the land and by extension, one another. It is the means through which we maintain memories and preserve stories, tucked away between the blossoms of fragrant flowers and billowing from plumes of volcanic sulfur and steam. How do we share these stories in a way more aligned with the worldview of our ancestors while still utilizing the power and pervasiveness of contemporary media? How do we confront the historiographical challenges of reproducing these storytelling landscapes radically altered by settler colonialism, including the loss of language and environmental destruction? My paper, "He Inoa 'Ala: Scent, Memory, and Identity in Indigenous Comics," is a graphic essay that explores the potential sensory aesthetics has in developing a uniquely Native Hawaiian approach to creating comics and graphic novels. Through real-time trial and error, this paper is an active series of experimentations to discover where the visual and pictorial language of comics and the layered storytelling experiences of Hawaiian mo'olelo–place-based storied histories–productively meld together and strengthen the formal qualities of one another. Spiraling through historical analysis of colonial deodorization in the form of the 19th century sandalwood trade and weaving in and out of personal narrative, "He Inoa 'Ala" is my attempt to push the boundaries of both cartooning and scholarly writing, all in the effort to discover creative methods that can be used to illustrate an entirely new genre of Indigenous graphic literature.

Safeguarding sandalwood: A review of current and emerging tools to support sustainable and legal forestry

Societal Impact StatementSandalwood and other high value tree species are under significant threat from illegal harvest. Illegal logging is an increasing problem contributing to deforestation, biodiversity loss, human rights abuses and funding transnational crime. Successful prosecution of illegal logging is hindered by a lack of methods to provide evidence of the origin of timber. New analytical techniques have been developed to trace timber back to its source. These methods, together with the establishment of sustainable sources of forest resources, can help protect vulnerable species by providing evidence to prosecute illegal harvest and ensure that commercially available forest products come from sustainable sources.SummarySandalwood is highly valued for its fragrant oil and has a long history of cultural and economic importance in many regions of the world. Historical overharvest and poor management have depleted natural populations of sandalwood, which are slow to regenerate. The increasing establishment of plantation sandalwood creates an alternative resource for the sandalwood industry while potentially relieving harvesting pressure on natural stands. Due to the high demand for sandalwood, remaining wild populations are still under threat from illegal logging and methods to identify the source of harvested sandalwood are needed. Laws and regulations aimed at preventing illegal harvest and possession of sandalwood have been put in place but cannot be enforced without the forensic tools to independently verify claimed origin or product quality. The high value of sandalwood combined with the difficulties in enforcing illegal logging laws makes these species particularly vulnerable to poaching. There is an immediate need to develop tools that can identify illegally sourced and adulterated sandalwood products. This paper reviews the current and developing scientific tools that can help identify and control illegal activity in sandalwood supply chains and provides recommendations for future research. Topics include isotope and DNA analysis for tracing illegally harvested sandalwood, chemical profiling for quality control of sandalwood oils, network and policy development to establish a framework for future regulation of the sandalwood trade.

Dari Barter sampai Monopoli: Perdagangan Cendana dan Pengaruh Eropa di Wilayah Timor Barat Abad Ke-18

The aroma of Timor sandalwood has attracted many traders from Asia and Europe to come to this region to get it. Because of its very high profit and selling value, Europeans began to compete to obtain large amounts of sandalwood. Therefore, the purpose of reconstructing the historical processes that occur related to this theme is very important to be exposed. So the question arises: How was the influence and dominance of Europeans about the sandalwood trading in West Timor in the 18th century? In order to obtain answers, the critical historical method is used as well as the use of primary and secondary sources and the study of relevant references. Thus, it is a fact that, with the increasingly bustling sandalwood trade, Timor is included in the world trade network. But on the other hand, it caused discord among Europeans. Each of them instills influence and dominance in order to control this sandalwood-producing area. So the Europeans implemented a political intervention aimed on the economical monopoly, because sandalwood which was originally a trading commodity for the local community was then controlled by European powers. The result of this dispute was the division of the island of Timor into two parts.

“Muito aborrecido e um negócio que nunca deveria ter sido feito”: uma reavaliação do comércio americano de sândalo entre o Havaí e a China, 1790-1832

Este artigo e uma reavaliacao critica do comercio americano de sândalo entre o Havai e a China entre 1790 e 1832. Faz tres contribuicoes para a historiografia do comercio inicial no Pacifico. Primeiro, argumenta que os navegadores americanos fizeram experiencias com o sândalo ao longo da decada de 1790. Segundo, apresenta um historico de precos que corrobora a influencia da geopolitica no desenvolvimento do comercio de sândalo. Terceiro, demonstra que uma combinacao de desflorestacao, competicao e saturacao do mercado contribuiu para o declinio do comercio na decada de 1820.

Sandalwood trade and development in Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACT The harvest and trade of sandalwood (Santalum macgregorii) from natural stands began in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the late nineteenth century. Sporadic harvesting has occurred intermittently since then and continues to this day, with little active management to promote regeneration. This study was undertaken to determine the state of natural sandalwood resources in PNG, clarify the associated regulations for monitoring its trade and export, and identify practical options for local resource restoration through family and clan plantings. We studied export permit data, interviewed resource owners and traders, evaluated forestry legislation and regulation and engaged landowners in three areas of the country to establish sandalwood plantings. We found few regulations or monitoring protocols for sandalwood harvesting and trade in PNG. Export declarations are the only means for reporting the grades and volumes traded. There is evidence that both grades and prices have been underdeclared at point of export. No export permits in the last eight years contained records of any high-grade (A) products, and declared export values were lower than domestic prices paid to resource owners. Export records since 1997 reveal that significant volumes of up to 126 tonnes annually were traded in the early 2000s. The natural resource is yet to fully recover, with much lower volumes exported. To address the reduction in availability of natural sandalwood, we engaged landowners in three locations to establish sandalwood plantings. The results demonstrate that sandalwood, grown in agroforestry systems, can be productive in PNG, with mean basal stem diameter increments of up to 2.0 cm y−1 recorded. To further develop the sandalwood sector in PNG, we make four recommendations: (1) establish a ten-year moratorium on the sandalwood trade to enable the recovery of natural populations; (2) develop a product grading and sales registry system to improve trade transparency and monitoring; (3) reallocate the tax revenues generated from sandalwood exports to the PNG Forest Authority to fund the monitoring of harvesting and trade; and (4) promote options for resource restoration through family garden, boundary and enrichment plantings. The sandalwood industry in PNG has the potential to be viable and sustainable if the proposed recommendations are adopted by appropriate stakeholders to manage production and regulate the trade in the country and internationally.

Progress and future research trends on Santalum album: A bibliometric and science mapping approach

Sandalwood (Santalum album) is woven into the culture and traditions of India for last 3000 years. However, India’s dominance on the international sandalwood trade is waning. Other countries, specifically Australia are emerging as a big-mammoth player in sandalwood trade. Still, there is a high demand-supply gap for Indian Sandalwood. This offers opportunities for the countries to dominate the trade by upscaling sandalwood cultivation among farmers and various stakeholders. Considering the extent of research activity as a proxy to a country’s attitude and approach towards the Santalum album, we used the theoretical framework of bibliometric studies to understand the current status of Indian sandalwood research globally. After 92 years of research (1928−2020), 374 scientific publications were listed in the Web of Science database for a single keyword search “Santalum album”. Analysis of this metadata using the bibliometrix R-package revealed an annual growth of 5.25 per cent in scientific publications over the years. Lokta’s law was found to be valid for Indian sandalwood research, indicating a possibility for increased research in the upcoming years which perfectly correlate with the increase in sandalwood prices. The analysis revealed a decadal shift in prominent researching countries. India dominated in terms of the number of scientific publications for the last two decades, followed by Australia during the decade I (2000−2010). However, China surpassed Australia in the current decade (2011−2020) in terms of research output. Further, more productive researchers were from China and Australia. The increased interest of Chinese researchers can have an impact on sandalwood market in the near possible future. SciMAT science mapping tool was used to map prominent researched areas over the 92 years and to uncover the future researchable areas. The results will contribute critically to ascertaining relevant research aspects while accounting the significant gaps like field planting geometry, tree: host ratio, irrigation and nutrition management regime and yield estimation. So that complete scientific information will encourage the private cultivation and can also promote Indian sandalwood cultivation at the community level.

Zuid Midden Timor under the Dutch Control 1905-1942

This study is aimed at retracing the Dutch colonial government in South Middle Timor or Zuid Midden Timor in the beginning of 20th century. Intending to expand its controlled territories, to exploit the sandalwood trade and introduce Christianity, the colonial government then domiclied in Kupang entered the inland parts of Timor island, to be prescisely in Molo in 1905. The Ducth colonial government defeated the local meos (soldiers), the Molo meo, Amabuan meo and the Amanatun meo. These three regions were later formed as a governmental administration zone by the East Indies, equivalent to a landschaap and were later combined in an onderafdelling-level administration unit called Zuid Midden Timor, with Molo as its capital city. As the capital city, Molo housed all public administration affairs, markets and shops, which were all centered in Molo. Until the end of the Dutch control in 1942, the Dutch colonial government had left its influences in culture, education, social aspects and governmental politics.

Examining the Origin of Fortifications in East Timor: Social and Environmental Factors

ABSTRACT The remains of fortified archaeological sites abound in hilltop locations on the island of East Timor (Timor-Leste). Archaeologists have linked the emergence of these fortified settlements with environmental change. Some point to a period of reduced rainfall and increased environmental fluctuations beginning about AD 1000, while others cite relatively large-scale climate change during the post-AD 1300 transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age. Both groups link environmental change to resource unpredictability which in turn leads to inter-group conflict. Of course environmental change is not the only possible trigger for conflict; a variety of social or economic factors could also be responsible. Here we present data on three fortified sites in East Timor, two of which have been dated, and combine these new data with previous work to develop a new chronology for fortifications in eastern East Timor. We then evaluate potential environmental and social factors against this chronology and other archaeological, historical, and ethnohistoric evidence. This assessment indicates that social factors, particularly the impact of increased sandalwood trade, were likely more important drivers of fortification and conflict in East Timor than environmental change.

Melanesian Pidgin and the Oceanic substrate By Roger M. Keesing (review)

176LANGUAGE, VOLUME 68, NUMBER 1 (1992) Melanesian Pidgin and the Oceanic substrate. By Roger M. Keesing. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988. Pp. xii, 265. $37.50. Reviewed by John Victor Singler, New York University The 'Melanesian Pidgin' (MP) ofK's title refers to Tok Pisin (spoken in Papua New Guinea), Solomons Pidgin (the Solomon Islands), and Bislama (Vanuatu). K's scenario for the development of MP departs dramatically from previous accounts. He moves the stabilization of the pidgin back in time and vastly expands its site. This chronologic and geographic shift necessitates a change in the roster of potential substrate languages for MP. K argues for the dominance of Eastern Oceanic languages, not just those found in the Southeast Solomonic and North and Central New Hebrides subgroups of Eastern Oceanic but, crucially, those spoken hundreds of miles north and east of Melanesia in Pohnpei and Kosrae and the Gilbert Islands, as well as those in Rotuman and Fiji.1 The book is divided into three sections. After an introductory chapter, K presents his version of the history of MP (Chs. 2-5), drawing extensively on nineteenth-century sources. Next he makes the case for the Oceanic substrate, especially Eastern Oceanic (Chs. 6-10). Finally, he examines the close relationship between Solomons Pidgin and Southeast Solomonic languages, particularly Kwaio (Chs. 11-13). To the final section he adds an appendix that juxtaposes excerpts from narratives in Solomons Pidgin with excerpts from equivalent narratives in Kwaio. K sees MP as a descendant of the 'worldwide' nautical jargon that had reached the Pacific in the late 1700s. In K's view the critical stage for the stabilization and localization, i.e. the transformation from jargon to extended pidgin, began 'in the 1840s as whaling and trading ships began to frequent the islands ofthe central Pacific' (15). This is the significance ofthe non-Melanesian islands cited above, as trading posts, as havens for European beachcombers and deserters, and especially as a source of crew members for European and American ships. Indeed, K argues that 'crews of mixed-island origin' (4) were the principal actors in the Pacific pidginizing process. Knowledge of the pidgin was turned to economic advantage by Pacific Islanders in the next phase: as the sandalwood trade developed in Melanesia, former crewmen became interpreters and middlemen. In particular, K singles out the men of the Loyalty Islands. Next, when plantations opened in Samoa and Queensland in the era of the Labor Trade, the middlemen became involved in the recruitment and supervision of plantation laborers. In turn, as new recruits were brought in, 'finish times' (veteran plantation laborers) took over the supervisory roles. The plantation setting proved favorable for a broad dissemination of the pidgin, the laborers learning it from their supervisors, fellow Islanders. When the laborers returned home, they took the pidgin with them. In presenting this scenario for the development of MP, K is primarily arguing ' Jackson (1986) departs from K and the linguists whom K cites (Pawley, Blust, et al.) by arguing that, at present, insufficient evidence exists for the inclusion within Eastern Oceanic ofMicronesian languages, crucially the languages of the Gilberts, Pohnpei, and Kosrae. REVIEWS177 against Mühlhäusler's (1978, 1985a) advocacy ofa 'substantially separate origin for the New Guinea Pidgin lineage' (51). K points out that 'virtually all the syntactic patterns of Tok Pisin ... are found as well in the Bislama of Vanuatu and in Solomons Pidgin' (52). He acknowledges that Tok Pisin had a separate history from 1890 on, but he argues that '[m]ost of the essential syntactic and semantic/lexical patterns of Melanesian Pidgin are represented in the texts from the 1870s and 1880s (and the earlier texts we have seen)' (48). Specifically, he enumerates sixteen MP characteristics that are attested prior to 1890. These include most of MP's best-known features, e.g. 'the standardized use of a transitive suffix -em or -im\ 'use of the grammatical element -fela in a set of quite regular syntactic slots', 'the regularized use of the so-called "predicate marker" /' after noun subjects', and 'the regularization of long as an all-purpose locative particle' (48-50). Following the presentation of MP's history, K then sets...

Book Review: They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the Southwest Pacific, 1830–1865

Book Review: They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the Southwest Pacific, 1830–1865

The Effects of European Contact on Hawaiian Agricultural Systems - 1778-1819

The effects of European contact on Hawaiian agricultural systems between 1778 and 1819 are analyzed under seven major dislocative inputs: war; drought and natural disasters; ship demands; crop and livestock additions; urbanization and political center shifts; depopulation; and the sandalwood trade. It is found that the agricultural systems' production was increased mainly along traditional lines. This production increase is also found to be a direct result of the chiefs' desires for trade goods and weapons as means to increase their power.

: They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South-West Pacific, 1830-1865 . Dorothy Shineberg.

: They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South-West Pacific, 1830-1865 . Dorothy Shineberg.

They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South-West Pacific 1830-1865

They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South-West Pacific 1830-1865

Reviews

Australia. By Anthony Trollope. Edited by P. D. Edwards and R. B. Joyce. Queensland University Press, 1968. Pp. 792. Illustrated. $15. Martov. A Political Biography of a Russian Social Democrat. By Israel Getzler. Melbourne University Press 1967. Pp. viii + 246. $8.50. The Catholic Church in Australia. A Short History: 1788–1967. By Patrick O'Farrell. Nelson, Melbourne and Sydney, 1968. PP. x + 294. Illustrated. $1.75. Charles Perry, Bishop of Melbourne: The Challenges of a Colonial Episcopate, 1847–76. By A. de Q. Robin. University of Western Australia Press 1968. Pp. 229, illustrations and maps. $6.90. Russell Grimwade. By J. R. Poynter. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 1967. Pp. xiv + 321. $8.35. ’The Eye and Ear’. The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Centenary History. By Lyndsay Gardiner. Robertson and Mullens 1968. Pp. 114. Illustrated. $3.75. The Dawn of Australian Psychiatry. By John Bostock. Mervyn Archdall Medical Monograph Number 4. Australasian Medical Publishing Company, Sydney 1968. Pp. 219. $4.50. They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South‐west Pacific 1830–1865. By Dorothy Shineberg. Melbourne University Press 1967. Pp. xiv + 299. $7.50. The Journal and Letters of Captain Charles Bishop on the North‐West Coast of America, in the Pacific and in New South Wales 1794–1799. Edited by Michael Roe. Cambridge University Press for the Hakluyt Society 1967. Pp. lvi + 342, frontispiece, maps. 42s. stg. Squatter, Selector and Storekeeper. A History of the Darling Downs 1859–93. By D. B. Waterson, Sydney University Press 1968. Pp. 310. $7.00. The Australian Dream. By Ian Turner. Sun Books, Melbourne 1968. Pp. xx + 358. $2.50. The Colonial and Imperial Conferences, 1887–1911. A Study in Imperial Organization. By John Edward Kendle. Longmans, for the Royal Commonwealth Society, London 1967. Pp. xi + 264. 36s. stg. The Stock Exchange of Melbourne and the Victorian Economy 1852–1900. By A. R. Hall. Australian National University Press, Canberra 1968. Pp. xiii + 267. $7.95. Australians and the Gold Rush. California and Down Under 1849–1854. By Jay Monaghan. University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles 1966. Pp. 317. $ U.S.6.50. ’Per Quale Iddio’: Machiavelli's Second Thoughts. By R. M. Crawford. Sydney University Press for the Australian Humanities Research Council, Sydney 1967. Pp. 24. 75c. Australia Since Federation: A Narrative and Critical Analysis. By Fred Alexander. Nelson, Melbourne 1967. Pp. xi + 352, illustrated. $4.95. Conscription in Australia. Edited by Roy Forward and Bob Reece. University of Queensland Press 1869. Pp. xii + 284, 24 tables. $4.50. The End of Sukarno: A Coup That Failed: A Purge That Ran Wild. By John Hughes. Angus and Robertson (U.K.), London 1968, Pp. x + 304. $4.95. The Tasmanians. The Story of a Doomed Race. By Robert Travers. Cassell, Melbourne 1968. Pp. 244. $4.50.

Book Reviews

AbstractHistorical and Critical Essays.The Emergence of the Eastern World.The Family in Classical Greece.The War at Troy.Contours of the Middle Ages.The Life of Francesco Guicciardini.The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century: Religion, the Reformation and Social Change.A Manual of Siegcraft and Fortification.The French Enlightenment and the Jews.The History of Germany Since 1789.Raspail, Scientist and Reformer.The Tragic Week: A Study of Anticlericalism in Spain, 1875‐1912.Franco, The Man and His Nation.A History of Sweden.Essays in Swedish History.The Early Fasas. A History of Sweden, 1523‐1611.Russia and the Outbreak of the Seven Years' War.The Peasant in Nineteenth‐Century Russia.The Origin of Forced Labor in the Soviet State, 1917‐1921.Stalin, Hitler, and Europe: The Origins of World War 11, 1933‐1939.English Cistercian Monasteries and Their Patrons in the Twelfth CenturyThe Royal Policy of Richard II: Absolutism in the Later Middle Ages.Henry VIII.Charles II's Escape from Worcester. A Collection of Narratives Assembled by Samuel Pepys.The Later Correspondence of George III. Volume IV, 1802‐1807.William Stubbs on the English Constitution.Life of John William Strutt, Third Baron Rayleigh O.M., F.RS.Celts, Catholics and Copperheads; Ireland Views the American Civil War.Anti‐Catholicism in Victorian England.Britain and the Persian Gulf, 1894‐1914.Ottoman Reform in Syria and Palestine, 1840‐1861: The Impact of the Tanzimat on Politics and Society.Travels in Ethiopia.Smuts: The Fields of Force, 1919‐1950.They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South‐West Pacific, 1830‐1865.James Truslow Adams, Historian of the American Dream.Reinterpretation in American Church History.The Americans and the French.The Antinomian Controversy, 1636‐1638: A Documentary History.A Rope of Sand, The Colonial Agents, British Politics, and the American Revolution.Attack on Quebec: The American Invasion of Canada, 1775.The Philosophy of the American Constitution.Origins of the Fifth Amendment.Mirror For Americans. Likeness of the Eastern Seaboard. 1810.Most Uncommon Jacksontans: The Radical Leaders of the Early Labor Movement.The Papers of Andrew Johnson.History of the Second Seminole War, 1835‐1842.William Montague Browne: Versatile Anglo‐Irish American, 1823‐1881.The Gettysburg Campaign, A Study in Command.Presidential Reconstruction in Mississippi.The World of Andrew Carnegie: 1865‐1901.The Emergence of the New South, 1913‐1945.Progressive Politics and Conservation: The Ballinger‐Pinchot Affair.From Prague After Munich: Diplomatic Papers, 1938‐1940.The Faces of Power: Constancy and Change in United States Foreign Policy from Truman to Johnson.Drafted or Deferred: Practices Past and Present.The Supreme Court and Political Freedom.The Supreme Court and Administrative Agencies.The Extirpation of Idolatry in Peru.Brazil: The Land and People.Why Perón Came to Power. The Background to Peranum in Argentina.

They Came for Sandalwood: A History of the Sandalwood Trade of the South-West Pacific, 1830–1865. By Dorothy Shineberg. (Melbourne University Press. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1968. 299 pp. Illustrations, maps, appendices, bibliography, and index. $13.50.)

<i>They Came for Sandalwood</i>: A History of the Sandalwood Trade of the South-West Pacific, 1830–1865. By Dorothy Shineberg. (Melbourne University Press. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1968. 299 pp. Illustrations, maps, appendices, bibliography, and index. $13.50.)

They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South-West Pacific, 1830-1865

They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South-West Pacific, 1830-1865

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE UNITED NATIONS. By T. B. Millar.THE STRATEGY OF CIVILIAN DEFENCE: Non‐violent Resistance to Aggression. Edited by Adam RobertTHE NEW RUMANIA: From People's Democracy to Socialist Republic. By Stephen Fischer‐Galati.ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN COMMUNIST RUMANIA. By J. M. Montias.THE CAPE PARLIAMENT 1854–1910. By J. L. McCracken.GREAT BRITAIN IN THE INDIAN OCEAN: A Study of Maritime Enterprise 1810–1880. By Gerald S. Graham.FRAGMENTS OF EMPIRE: A History of the Western Pacific High Commission 1877–1914. By Deryck Scarr.SAMOA MO SAMOA: The Emergence of the Independent State of Western Samoa. By J. W. DavidsonTHEY CAME FOR SANDALWOOD: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South‐West Pacific 1830–1865. By Dorothy Shineberg.THE JOURNAL AND LETTERS OF CAPTAIN CHARLES BISHOP OX THE NORTH‐WEST COAST OF AMERICA, IN THE PACIFIC AND IN NEW SOUTH WALES, 1794–1799. Edited by Michael Roe.AUSTRALIA'S PACIFIC FRONTIER: Economic and Cultural Expansion into the Pacific 1795–1886. Edited with an introduction by John M. R. Young.A HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA II: New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land 1822–1838. By C. M. H. Clark.AUSTRALIA SINCE FEDERATION: A Narrative and Critical Analysis. By Fred Alexander.BRITAIN AND AUSTRALIA 1831–1856: A Study in Imperial Relations and Crown Lands Administration. By Peter Burroughs.SCOTLAND AND AUSTRALIA 1788–1850: Emigration, Commerce and Investment. By David S. Macmillan.THE CHINESE IN AUSTRALIA. By Arthur Huck.THE RIVERINA 1861–1891: An Australian Regional Study. By G. L. Buxton.THE NORTHERN TERRITORY PASTORAL INDUSTRY 1863–1910. By Ross Duncan.INDUSTRIAL LABOUR AND POLITICS: The Dynamics of the Labour Movement in Eastern Australia, 1900–1921. By Ian Turner.ISAAC ISAACS. By Zelman CowenRUSSELL GRIMWADE. By J. R. PoynterTHE ADMINISTRATION OF THE WHITE AUSTRALIA POLICY. By A. C. Palfreeman.

DorothyShineberg, They Came for Sandalwood: a study of the sandalwood trade in the South-West Pacific 1830-1865 (Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1967), pp. xiv + 299: $7.50

DorothyShineberg, They Came for Sandalwood: a study of the sandalwood trade in the South-West Pacific 1830-1865 (Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1967), pp. xiv + 299: $7.50

The Sandalwood trade in Melanesian economics, 1841–65

The discovery of sandalwood in the New Hebrides, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands gave rise to the first regular contacts between the islanders of this region and Europeans.1 After the first discouraging expeditions of 1829-30, to the southern New Hebrides, mercantile interest in the area appears to have lapsed for a decade. But from 1841, when new stands were found in the New Caledonian group, until about 1865, the whole region was constantly visited by sandalwood traders, chiefly from Sydney, at the average rate of about 20 ships a year. In spite of their considerable contact with the peoples of this area throughout the period, their history (as trading history elsewhere) has been neglected. This is no doubt partly due to the difficulty of unearthing material: unlike missionaries, naval commanders and colonial officers, few traders had a penchant for memoirs. It probably also has something to do with the widespread opinion that as 'birds of passage' the traders were without significant influence on the affairs of the islanders. This is, however, a European-oriented view which ignores the Melan esian perspective. Whereas the islanders did not understand European religion or social institutions and in any case had no desire to change their own beliefs, they understood European trade goods immediately. They knew a good tool when they saw one?there was no need to preach the superiority of steel to stone. They were excited by cloth and beads of textures and colours that they could not make themselves. In fact, the superior material culture of the European was the only aspect of western civilization which aroused their immediate and sustained interest. The importance of the trader to the Melanesians was that he gave them access to what they wanted; through trade they could command a regular supply of the desired goods. Moreover, the acquisition of this property produced changes in their own societies, some of which were very rapid, adding to their dislocating effects. The Iron Age took a long time to evolve in Europe, but in the Pacific Islands it came almost overnight, and in a developed form, as iron hoop, axes, knives and firearms. One can see it as a sort of Pacific Islands version of the Industrial Revolution. But there was the important