PERSONALIA

Prof. Jan van Baal

The Royal Dutch Science Academy (KNAW - Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (KNAW) has awarded prof.dr.Jan van Baal its 1991 silver academic medal. Van Baal, an anthropologist and ex-governor of Dutch New Guinea, received the distinction for his administrative and scientific work. He has also, together with prof.dr.P.E. de Josselin de Jong, been named honorary member of the Royal Institute of Linguistics and Ethnology in Leiden, on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the Institute's establishment.

 
Obituary Professor J.A.W. Forge, 1920-1991

By Toon van Meijl

Anthony Forge died at his home in Canberra, Australia, on 7 October 1991. He was a graduate of Cambridge University and a former staff member of the London School of Economics. In 1974 he was appointed Foundation Professor of Anthropology in the Faculty of Arts at the Australian National University (A.N.U.) of Canberra, a position which he held until his death. At the A.N.U. he cooperated closely with the distinguished Australian archaeologist John Mulvaney, Foundation Professor of Prehistory since 1971, and his successor, Professor Isabel McBryde, in establishing and expanding a joint Department of Prehistory and Anthropology.

In the 1960s Anthony conducted extensive fieldwork among the Abelam of the Sepik in Papua New Guinea. Later he shifted his attention to the Indonesian island of Bali. Both research areas were chosen because in those places the production of art played a central role in everyday life. Indeed, Anthony's main interest was in art and he acquired an international reputation with seminal contributions to the development of an anthropological perspective on art. His most important writings aim at devising a comprehensive approach to art as bridging symbolic and secular dimensions of social life. Although limited in number his publications have frequently been acclaimed, not only for their innovative analysis of art, but also for their superb craftsmanship.

Since his appointment at A.N.U. Anthony's own research and writing became subordinate to his task of managing the department, which he, along with his colleagues in prehistory, developed into one of the largest and most influential departments of the A.N.U.. While prehistory and anthropology maintained a certain degree of autonomy within the department, arts and craft provided a field of study in which both disciplines could be integrated. This focus of research proved attractive to many students, which Anthony regarded the ultimate justification for his efforts. The students of the department were Anthony's pride and he did everything possible to create an optimal environment for graduate studies. Thus he was dreaded by the university bureaucracy but all the more respected by his staff and students. Those who knew him personally will always treasure the memory of Anthony as a most impressive leader and person with an inimitable sharpness and a tremendous sense of humour.

 
Paliau Maloat

On 1 November 1991 Paliau Maloat died in his native village Lipan on Baluan Island, Manus, Papua New Guinea. Paliau was one of the most outstanding political leaders of the post-war era in Manus and PNG generally. In 1946 he became the initiator of a radical reform movement which aimed at emancipating the Manus population from colonial inequality, which, especially after the war experiences, was perceived as unjust. The Paliau Movement, as it was soon called, became an important political force and contributed significantly to political emancipation, economic development and the introduction of education. In 1964 and 1968 Paliau was elected as the Manus representative in the national House of Assembly. He remained an influential local politician in Manus affairs until his death. From 1978 he was the leader of Makasol which was both a political pressure group and a religious movement. Paliau was considered by his Makasol followers as the last prophet of the world. His death brings to an end one of the longest and most creative political careers in the recent history of Papua New Guinea.