Try free for 30 days

  • Taim Bilong Masta

  • The Australian Involvement with Papua New Guina
  • By: Tim Bowden
  • Narrated by: Tim Bowden
  • Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (10 ratings)

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Taim Bilong Masta cover art

Taim Bilong Masta

By: Tim Bowden
Narrated by: Tim Bowden
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $33.99

Buy Now for $33.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

In 1979, the idea of an oral history based project on the administration of Papua New Guinea germinated at the ABC, driven by Tim Bowden and Daniel Connell. This massive undertaking involved the recording of 350 hours of tape recorded interviews with Australians and Papua New Guineans who had been involved with Australia's colonial administration which ended with self government and independence in 1975. The result is a superb 24 program social history, so evocative of a time and place, revealed through a tapestry of voices from those who lived through it. These are first-hand accounts of the pre-war history in the early 1900s, the masta-boi relationships, the gold rush and the exploration of the highlands. In Taim Bilong Masta, Australian men and women who spent so many years living and working in Papua New Guinea before independence in 1975 can be heard again, telling their own stories.

©1985 Tim Bowden (P)2013 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Taim Bilong Masta

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a treasure!

Long before podcasts, before websites where you can sometimes track things down, and definitely before the ABC was forced into repeating programs four times every week, I remember hearing a few episodes of this. I remember how interesting it was, but at that time in my life I never managed to lock the program time slot into my schedule, and I was sorry when I found it had finished and I had missed almost all of it. So it was with great delight when I found I could have the entire lot of it in my library.

This is a body of work that Tim Bowden should be well proud of. It's a massive effort. These are the voices of people who lived through Australia's occupation / administration of PNG, and they all paint a vivid picture of life as it was at that time, through the best part of the 20th century. 30-40 years after some of the events being described you can still hear the emotion in these voices. Some people were terribly disturbed by what they saw, and you can hear their pain. Despite the bare-faced racism of some of the contributors it's a real treasure. I even heard the voice of someone I used to work with in 1976!

God knows what I'm going to listen to next. It's a hard act to follow.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderfully presented,

Brought back many great memories of my 20 plus years in the country. And gives a true warts and all view of the good and the bad of Australia's time governing PNG.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Should be compulsory to all Queensland schools

Well made historic recordings from the people w who where there just can not beat that.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Painfully disappointing

I’m living in PNG and was highly motivated to learn about the history which is why this was so sad.

The fact that it was told by the white people who lived it PNG without any insight and with the racist colonial ignorance that was “normalized” during that time made me feel like this should have been a footnote in a better researched contemporary story.

Times have changed and I can’t see how this kind of rubbish helps to recognize what really happened in the past as I’m looking for a balanced perspective.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.