Denoon, Donald 1940- (Donald John Noble Denoon)

PERSONAL:

Born July 29, 1940, in Scotland; son of Alexander (an engineer) and Elspeth (a secretary) Denoon; married Pamela Bavin Tod (a biochemist), January 8, 1966 (deceased, 1988); married Mary Eleanor Mortimer (a librarian and publisher), February 22, 1992; children: Louise, Alexander, Gordon. Education: University of Natal, B.A. (honors), 1961; Cambridge University, Ph.D., 1965.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Historian, educator, and writer. Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, lecturer in history, 1966-72; University of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, professor of history, 1972-81; Australian National University, Canberra, senior research fellow, 1982-c. 1990, professor of Pacific Island history, then emeritus professor and visiting fellow at the Research School of Pacific & Asian Studies, 1990-2007.

WRITINGS:

A Grand Illusion, Longman (London, England), 1972.

Southern Africa since 1800, Longman (London, England), 1972.

(Editor) A History of Agriculture in Papua New Guinea, Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies (Papua, New Guinea), 1981.

(Editor) Oral Tradition in Melanesia, Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies (Papua, New Guinea), 1981.

Settler Capitalism, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1983.

(Coauthor) Public Health in Papua New Guinea: Medical Possibility and Social Constraint, 1884-1984, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1989.

(Coeditor) Health and Healing in Tropical Australia and Papua New Guinea, James Cook University (Townsville, Northern Queensland, Australia), 1991.

(Editor, with Mark Hudson, Gavan McCormack, and Tessa Morris-Suzuki) Multicultural Japan: Palaeolithic to Postmodern, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1996.

(Editor) The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1997.

Getting under the Skin: The Bougainville Copper Agreement and the Creation of the Panguna Mine, Melbourne University Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 2000.

(With Philippa Mein-Smith, with Marivic Wyndham) A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, Blackwell (Malden, MA), 2000.

(Editor, with Monica Wehner) Without a Gun: Australians' Experiences Monitoring Peace in Bougainville, 1997-2001, Pandanus Books (Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia), 2001.

After Life: A Divine Comedy (novel), Pandanus Books (Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia), 2004.

A Trial Separation: Australia and the Decolonisation of Papua New Guinea, Pandanus Books (Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Donald Denoon once told CA: "My concern is to understand the interaction of race, class, and gender in colonial contexts." Specifically, the author has spent his academic career researching settler societies and their relations with indigenous people, Papua New Guinea's independence, Pacific Island medical history, Pacific Island mining history, and the creation and destruction of regional identities. He has also authored, coauthored, and edited numerous books.

Denoon is also editor with others of The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders. The book provides a comprehensive history of the Pacific Islands, from commerce, colonialism, and Christianity to the world wars that affected the region and the nuclear experience there. Stefan Petrow, writing in History: Review of New Books, called the book a "very readable political, economic, social, and cultural history." David A. Chappell noted in the Historian: "The writing is richly detailed but eminently readable, making the book a first-rate, one-volume resource for both scholars and general readers who are interested in the Pacific."

Getting under the Skin: The Bougainville Copper Agreement and the Creation of the Panguna Mine focuses on the reasons for a largely forgotten conflict in the South Pacific, namely the development of the Panguna copper mine on the large island east of Papua New Guinea named Bougainville. When the island's citizens opposed the British mining operation and its pollution of local water resources, they met with harsh treatment. "Donald Denoon has constructed a compelling and insightful account of the origins of the mine (and of the conflict) by drawing on the archives of the Australian administration in Port Moresby and the Department of Territories of the Australian Government (in Canberra), as well as interviewing some of the key individuals involved," noted Glenn Banks in a review in the Contemporary Pacific.

Denoon and coauthors Philippa Mein-Smith and Marivic Wyndham provide a comprehensive history with their book A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific. In part one, titled "Foundations of Contemporary Identities," they discuss topics such as patterns of pre-European settlement and interaction, depopulation, and immigration. Part two, titled "New Societies and Economies," examines topics such as the struggle for land, mining, and labor relations. The remaining sections are titled "New States and Social Identities," "Wars and Reconstructions," and "Reflections on Contemporary Identities." Stefan Petrow, writing in History: Review of New Books, called the book a "very readable political, economic, social, and cultural history." English Historical Review contributor John Poynter noted that "the book remains a considerable achievement," adding: "It is also lively and enlightening, not least in the numerous shrewd asides which season it."

The author turns to novel writing with After Life: A Divine Comedy. The story revolves around a man named Kingston, a management consultant, atheist, and adulterer. When Kingston apparently dies, he finds himself in the "Afterlife," which the Archangel Gabriel is looking to downsize. "On balance, … [the novel] is a droll story that does bring up questions for the thoughtful reader about the existence and nature of the beyond," wrote Shirley J. Paolini in Antipodes.

In his 2005 book, A Trial Separation: Australia and the Decolonisation of Papua New Guinea, the author looks at the 1975 independence of Papua New Guinea from being an Australian territory. Before independence, responsibility lay with a minister in Canberra and services were provided by Commonwealth agencies. Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam declared in 1973 that independence should be achieved within two years. Most Australians were united in the idea that Papua New Guineans should be independent while the Papua New Guineans themselves remained somewhat nervous about their impending freedom from colonization. "Through a rigorous mobilisation of archival material and first-hand accounts from key political figures, Denoon suggests that mainstream Papuans and New Guineans espoused relatively conservative political ambitions," noted Daniel Vujcich in a review on the Australian Public Intellectual Network Web site.

Overall, the author delves into the "trial separation" of Australia and Papua New Guinea and provides his view of the decolonization project of independence as a work that remains in progress. In the process, he analyzes what independence has meant to the region and whether or not the move to independence came too soon. "Denoon's information is original, balanced and lucidly expressed," wrote Leo Scheps on the Papua New Guinea Association of Australia Web site. "This book is sure to become a favourite with scholars and general readers interested in PNG affairs." Australian Journal of Politics and History contributor David Lee commented: "While future historical work will flesh out the various elements in this synthesis, A Trial Separation will remain indispensable reading for historians of Papua New Guinea and for policy-makers in Canberra and Port Moresby."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Antipodes, December, 2004, Shirley J. Paolini, "Academic Afterlives," review of After Life: A Divine Comedy, p. 184.

Antiquity, December, 1997, Gina L. Barnes, review of Multicultural Japan: Palaeolithic to Postmodern, p. 1104.

Australian Journal of Anthropology, April, 2007, John Connell, review of A Trial Separation: Australia and the Decolonisation of Papua New Guinea, p. 100.

Australian Journal of Politics and History, September, 2001, Doug Munro, review of The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders, p. 434; March, 2002, Murray Johnson, review of A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, p. 102; June, 2006, David Lee, review of A Trial Separation, p. 342.

Canadian Journal of History, December, 1999, Celine Dauverd, review of The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders, p. 495; August, 2003, Celine Dauverd, review of A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, p. 365.

Contemporary Pacific, spring, 2000, Jacqueline Leckie, review of The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders, p. 266; spring, 2001, Glenn Banks, review of Getting under the Skin: The Bougainville Copper Agreement and the Creation of the Panguna Mine, p. 273.

English Historical Review, April, 1999, Colin Newbury, review of The Cambridge History of Pacific Islanders, p. 449; September, 2001, John Poynter, review of A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, p. 981.

Historian, spring, 1999, E. Patricia Tsurumi, review of Multicultural Japan, p. 698; summer, 1999, David A. Chappell, review of The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders, p. 931; fall, 2002, Christopher Cottrell, review of A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, p. 210.

History: Review of New Books, winter, 2001, Stephan Petrow, review of A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, p. 88.

Journal of Intercultural Studies, April, 1998, Johann Arnason, review of Multicultural Japan, p. 115.

Journal of Pacific History, November, 1998, Ken Inglis, review of The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders, p. 297.

Pacific Affairs, winter, 2001, Cyril Belshaw, review of A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, p. 629; spring, 2006, Steffen Dalsgaard, review of A Trial Separation, p. 164.

ONLINE

Australian Public Intellectual Network,http://www.apinetwork.com/ (April 2, 2008), Daniel Vujcich, review of A Trial Separation.

Humanities and Social Sciences Online,http://www.hnet.org/ (April 2, 2008), Jennifer M. Callans, review of Multicultural Japan; Ian Campbell, review of The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders.

Papua New Guinea Association of Australia Web site,http://www.pngaa.net/ (April 2, 2008), Leo Scheps, review of A Trial Separation.

Research School of Pacific & Asian Studies, Australian National University Web site,http://rspas.anu.edu.au/ (April 2, 2008), faculty profile of author.