If you want to know about some people who had so little to give but who gave so much then you should read this book. It is an account of the experiences of a young man working as a surveyor with teams of native Papuans in the bushland of Papua.

The narrative is an account of the first crossing by Europeans of the rugged, 12,000ft Star Mountains Range of the Australian Trust Territory of New Guinea. The Star Mountains are east of the West Irian border in the vicinity of Telefomin. The crossing of the mountains was accomplished by a party of six men, including Hayllar, who set out from Telefomin on February 25, 1965. The men climbed two of the highest peaks in the ranges, Mt Capella and Mt Scorpion, and visited a sheet of water called Lake Vivien which had not previously been seen by natives of the area. Archival description from: Australian National University. Pacific Manuscripts Bureau: Collection MS 83 - Scorpion - Central New Guinea. Narrative of exploring expedition. The manuscript by Tom Hayllar described above is the basis of this book.

Despite the heated competition for colonial possessions in Papua New Guinea during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the personnel required to run an effective administration were scarce. As a result, the Australian colonial regime opted for a quick solution: it engaged Papua New Guineans—often to perform the most hazardous and most unpopular responsibilities. Based on extensive interviews with former policemen, written records of the time, and reminiscences of colonial officials, this book links events involving police, villagers, and government officers (kiaps) over a forty-year period to wider issues in the colonial history of Papua New Guinea and, by extension, of the Pacific Islands and beyond.

This volume brings together a number of papers written by the author between 1971 and 2001 which address issues of political and economic development and social change in Papua New Guinea.