Journeys in a Small Canoe: The life and times of Lloyd Maepeza Gina

by Gina, Lloyd Maepeza, edited by Bennett, Judith A. and Russell, Khyla (2003), xxiv+290pp., ISBN 1 74076 032 8.
AUD$31.78 (Including GST: AUD$34.96) (softcover)

Although the life story of prominent Solomon Islander Sir Lloyd Maepeza Gina has a unique value for Solomon Islanders, it has universal aspects that people outside the Solomons will find of interest. From the little many people know of the history of Solomons, this story distils a lot of it: the importance of family and genealogy; the web of connections mediated by marriage, adoption and even abduction; the identification of people with land; the exciting days of inter-island raiding and head hunting along with the horrors for victims; the labour trade; the coming of Christianity and missionaries leaving a lasting impression on the faith of the people; the suffering that the Japanese invasion induced and the material prosperity and mental stimulation that the Americans injected into a colonial outpost; the resistance and accommodation by Solomon Islanders to the colonial power and its officials; the attraction and repulsion of the colonial order; the sometimes-ambivalent connections with other Pacific Islanders; the challenges of Independence, its hopes and disappointments; island-based jealousies and insecurities; the friendships that transcend place and nationality and the opportunities of the wider world are all embodied in one life.