In 1977–78, right after Papua New Guinea had achieved its political independence, Derk van Groningen was living among the Kilenge people on the north-west coast of the island of New Britain. Originally, his ethnographic field research centered on the circular migration pattern in the Kilenge area. Being permitted to take photographs of their daily activities, his focus became much broader.
Groningen’s work presents a photographic documentation of many aspects of Kilenge life during the transition period from colonial rule to self-determination and governance. His original observations and photographs are published here for the first time.