Australian School of Pacific Administration: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Australian college}}

The '''Australian School of Pacific Administration''' (ASOPA) was a [[Tertiary education|tertiary institution]] established by the [[Australian Government]] to train administrators and later school teachers to work in [[Papua New Guinea]]. It became the '''International Training Institute''' (ITI) in 1973 and provided management training for professionals from [[developing countries]] in the [[Pacific]], [[Asia]], [[Africa]] and the [[Caribbean]]. After a period as a base for consultants operating in the [[South Pacific]] for the [[Australian Agency for International Development|Australian Development Assistance Bureau]], it closed in late 1997.

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}{{Use Australian English|date=September 2021}}

The '''Australian School of Pacific Administration''' (ASOPA) was a [[Tertiary education|tertiary institution]] established by the [[Australian Government]] to train administrators and later school teachers to work in [[Papua New Guinea]]. It became the '''International Training Institute''' (ITI) in 1973 and provided management training for professionals from [[developing countries]] in the [[Pacific]], [[Asia]], [[Africa]] and the [[Caribbean]]. After a period as a base for consultants operating in the [[Oceania|South Pacific]] for the [[Australian Agency for International Development|Australian Development Assistance Bureau]], it closed in late 1997.

==Beginnings==

[[Image:asopa2004.jpg|thumb|ASOPA 2004 - delapidatedrun down and awaiting restoration|200px|right]]

In 1943, the [[Australian Army]]’s Colonel [[Alfred Conlon]], who had previously chaired Prime Minister [[John Curtin]]'s committee on national morale, was assigned to the staff of the Army’s commander-in-chief, General Sir [[Thomas Blamey]]. Alf Conlon believed the Army needed a research section to tackle major strategic contingencies, such as what to do if Japan invaded Australia, and persuaded Blamey to establish a [[Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs]]. Blamey assigned Conlon to head the Directorate, which also provided policy advice on the governance of the Trust Territory of Papua and the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, then under Australian administration and the scene of fierce fighting between Allied and Japanese forces.

Established in his new role, Conlon assembled around him a group of talented Australian academics,<ref>{{cite web

| last =RitchieRyan

| first =JohnPeter

| authorlink =

| coauthors =Diane Langmore (eds)

| title = Conlon, Alfred Austin Joseph (1908 - 1961)

| work= [[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]

| volume =

| pages =

| publisher = Research School of Social Sciences, [[Australian National University]]

| url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130529b.htm

| accessdate = 2006-12-24 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061221021515/http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130529b.htm| archivedate= 21 December 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> among them [[John Kerr (Governor-General)|John Kerr]], [[James Plimsoll]], [[James McAuley]], [[Harold Stewart]], [[Camilla Wedgwood]], [[Ian Hogbin]], [[Bill Stanner]], [[Marie Reay]] and [[IsaIda Leeson]].<ref>{{cite web

| last =Ritchie Berzins

| first =John Baiba

| authorlink =

| coauthors =Diane Langmore (eds)

| title = Leeson, Ida Emily (1885 - 1964)

| work= [[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]

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| accessdate = 2006-12-24 }}</ref>

By 1945, as [[World War II]] was drawing to a close, the [[School of Civil Affairs]] broadened its role to train officers for the [[Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit]] (ANGAU), responsible for civil administration in the Territories. At this time non-academic functions of Sydney University's Department of Anthropology - including providing training for cadet officers joining the New Guinea service and also more senior officials - were transferred to ASOPA.

</gallery>ByOriginally 1945,located asat [[WorldRoyal WarMilitary IICollege, Duntroon]] wasin drawing[[Canberra]], toin aMarch close,1946 the [[School ofwas Civil Affairs]] broadened its roletransferred to traincivilian officerscontrol forand renamed the [[Australian NewSchool Guineaof AdministrativePacific Unit]]Administration (ANGAUASOPA). [[Anne, responsibleLady forKerr|Anne civilRobson]] administrationhad inbeen theworking Territories.with Originallythe locatedorganisation atfor [[Royalsome Military Collegetime, Duntroon]]and inat [[Canberra]],this intime Marchshe 1946was theappointed Schoola wasfellow transferredin toColonial civilianAdministration.<ref>Cassandra controlPybus, ''The Devil and renamedJames theMcAuley'', Australian1999, SchoolPart of4: Pacific'Staggering Administrationin (ASOPA)the Shadows', p. 85</ref> In May 1947, itthe School was relocated to a group of Army huts on [[Middle Head]] in the [[Sydney]] suburb of [[Mosman, New South Wales|Mosman]]. ASOPA operated under the [[Papua and New Guinea Act 1949]] and was a responsibility of the Federal Minister for External Territories until 1 December 1973.

<gallery>

Image:asopa2004.jpg|ASOPA - delapidated and awaiting restoration

</gallery>By 1945, as [[World War II]] was drawing to a close, the [[School of Civil Affairs]] broadened its role to train officers for the [[Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit]] (ANGAU), responsible for civil administration in the Territories. Originally located at [[Royal Military College, Duntroon]] in [[Canberra]], in March 1946 the School was transferred to civilian control and renamed the Australian School of Pacific Administration (ASOPA). In May 1947 it was relocated to a group of Army huts on [[Middle Head]] in the [[Sydney]] suburb of [[Mosman, New South Wales|Mosman]]. ASOPA operated under the [[Papua and New Guinea Act 1949]] and was a responsibility of the Federal Minister for External Territories until 1 December 1973.

In 1946, John Kerr (later Sir John Kerr QC, [[Governor-General of Australia]]; Anne Robson became his second wife in 1975) was appointeddemobilised asfrom the Australian Army with the rank of colonel and appointed the first Principal of ASOPA. and,The atfollowing theyear samehe time,also became the first Organising Secretary-General of the [[South Pacific Commission]]. He returned to the bar in 1948, whereto he becamebecome one of Sydney's leading industrial lawyers. Conlon himself took over ASOPA and spent 1948-49 and 1949 as a reportedly unsuccessful and unhappy Principal of the institution.

== Operations ==

Immediately after the war, enrolments to study at ASOPA were restricted to servicemen and, when civilian candidates were admitted not long after, preference was given to those with working experience and good academic records. In the 27 years from 1946-731946–73, ASOPA trained hundredsapproximately of1400 personneladministrators for service in the [[Territory of Papua and New Guinea]] (TPNG), the [[Northern Territory]] and [[Nauru]]. After initially acquiring field experience in TPNG, [[Kiap|Patrol Officers]] spent a year at ASOPA studying subjects such as law, map reading, history, government, Tok Pisin and anthropology. 30 of those who trained for Papua New Guinea service died in service there, the last in 1978.

In 1954, ASOPA began to train Australian teachers for service in TPNG to assist develop primary education. At the same time, courses were offered to teachers recruited for Special ([[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]]) Schools in the Northern Territory of Australia. From 1956, teacher cadets were trained at distant [[Charles Sturt University|Bathurst Teachers’ College]] in [[Bathurst, New South Wales|Bathurst]]. When the training course was eventually transferred to Middle Head in 19591958, the trainee teachers were redesignated ‘Cadet Education Officers’ (CEOs). Approximately 900 CEOs trained for two years at ASOPA beforewhile about 700 goingwent to TPNG where, after three years service, they qualified for the award of the New South Wales Teacher’s Certificate.

In addition to training patrol and education officers, the School ran shorter orientation and refresher programs for Australian professional personnel preparing to serve in TPNG and elsewhere in the South Pacific.

By the mid-1960s, the Australian Government realised that Papua New Guinea would become independent sooner than previously anticipated and, under the Principalship of political scientist and author [[Charles Rowley (academic)|Charles Rowley]], later Foundation Professor of Politics at the [[University of Papua New Guinea]], ASOPA moved into an intensive period of training young Australians to accelerate the pace of development. Papua New Guinea eventually achieved nationhood on 16 September 1975.

In its final years, ASOPA introduced training for secondary teachers and more specialised administration courses. In 1970 there was a major change of focus as, with Papua New Guinea independence looming, the Australian Government turned to ASOPA to make good a serious shortage of trained indigenous administrators. The School enrolled up to 60 Papua New Guineans in ten-month management training courses. At the same time, the training of Australians was phased out. In these later years, ASOPA's work became more international. Although Papua New Guinea remained strongly represented, increasing numbers of students came from other developing countries in the Pacific and elsewhere.

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In 1973, the year in which Australia granted [[self-government]] to Papua New Guinea, ASOPA was redesignated and restructured as the '''International Training Institute''' (ITI) within the [[Australian Agency for International Development|Australian Development Assistance Bureau]], a division of the [[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)|Department of Foreign Affairs]]. ITI provided management training for professionals from developing countries in the [[Pacific]], [[Asia]], [[Africa]] and the [[Caribbean]].

A final restructuring – and change in name to '''Centre for Pacific Development and Training''' -– saw the Middle Head campus used as a base for consultants operating in the South Pacific until this role came to an end late in 1997.

The history of ASOPA, and its successor institutions, parallelledparalleled the changing political milieu of the post-war and [[coldCold warWar]] years. ASOPA began as a training institution for Australians taking leadership positions in Australia's territories. In its middle life, the School offered courses to people from developing countries. And, at the end, it provided a base for Australians consulting to the developing world.

At the end of World War II, confronting the first of many threats to the School’s existence over the years, John Kerr wrote: “The idea was opposed, and opposed in influential quarters... We were determined that what had been created should not be destroyed. In this we succeeded.”

Today, the old Army huts on Middle Head are empty, but they have been [http://www.deh.gov.au/heritage/ heritage listed] by the Commonwealth Government and now await refurbishment and regeneration into another role.

== Sources ==

*{{cite journal

| last =Campbell

| first =I C

| title = The ASOPA Controversy: a pivot of Australian policy for Papua and New Guinea, 1945-49

| authorlink =

| journal = [[Journal of Pacific History]]

| title = The ASOPA Controversy: a pivot of Australian policy for Papua and New Guinea, 1945-49

| volume=35 =

| journal = [[Journal of Pacific History]]

| issue =11 11

| volume = 35

| date = June 2000

| issue = 11

| url = http://www.asopa.com.au/archives/Journal%20of%20Pacific%20History.htm

| pages =

| accessdate = 2006-12-24}}

| publisher =

|doi=10.1080/713682830

| date = June 2000

|url-status=dead

| url = http://www.asopa.com.au/archives/Journal%20of%20Pacific%20History.htm

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819091407/http://www.asopa.com.au/archives/Journal%20of%20Pacific%20History.htm

| accessdate = 2006-12-24}}

|archivedate=2006-08-19

|url-access=subscription

}}

*{{cite web

| editor1-last = Ciolek

| editor1-first = TMT. M.

| coauthorseditor2-first = John Noyce (eds)

| editor2-last = Noyce

| title = Acronyms Used by Asian/Pacific Studies' Scholars: a Dictionary

| publisher = [[Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies]] (RSPAS), [[Australian National University]]

| url = http://coombs.anu.edu.au/ACR/Acronyms.html

| accessdate = 2006-12-23 }}{{failed verification |date=August 2015}}

*Bill Goff, ‘The End of a Unique Institution’, Focus vol 13 no 1, [[Australian Agency for International Development]], March 1998

*Bill Goff, ‘The End of a Unique Institution’, Focus vol 13 no 1, [[Australian Agency for International Development]], March 1998

*{{cite web

| title = Pacific Studies WWW Monitor

| publisher = RSPAS

| publisher = Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, [[Australian National University]]

| url = http://coombs.anu.edu.au/pacific-www-monitor.html

| accessdate = 2006-12-23 }}

*{{cite web|title=Fact Sheet 241 (John Robert Kerr) |publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]] |url=http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/fact_sheets/FS241.html |accessdate=2007-01-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418170149/http://www.naa.gov.au/Publications/fact_sheets/fs241.html |archivedate=April 18, 2007 }}

*{{cite web

| editor1-last = Ritchie

| editor1-first = John

| authorlinkeditor2-first = Diane

| coauthorseditor2-last =Diane Langmore (eds)

| title = Home page

| work= [[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]

| volume =

| pages =

| publisher = Research School of Social Sciences, [[Australian National University]]

| url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/adbonline.htm

| accessdate = 2006-12-23 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070103192513/http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/adbonline.htm| archivedate= 3 January 2007 | url-status= live}}

| accessdate = 2006-12-23 }}

*[[Cliff Turney]] and Judy Taylor, To Enlighten Them Our Task, Sydmac Academic Press, 1996

*UNESCO, Reports and Papers in the Social Sciences, Social Sciences in Asia IV, No 42, nd

*Cliff Turney and Judy Taylor, To Enlighten Them Our Task, Sydmac Academic Press, 1996

==Footnotes==

{{Reflist}}

<references/>

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Australian vocational education and training providers]]