Thomas McMahon: Photography as propaganda in the Pacific Islands

Abstract

The importance of photography in constructing a colonial1 and hegemonic representation can be measured by the career of Thomas John McMahon, a journalist for the Cairns Post and Northern Herald and later a freelance author, photographer and speaker. He first visited Papua and German New Guinea in September 1915 and then spent the next seven years visiting the colonies and territories of the western and central Pacific Islands to gather material for a series of illustrated magazine and newspaper articles. After visiting Papua and New Guinea three times he toured the Solomons, Torres Strait, Nauru, Ocean (now Banaba), Gilberts (now Kiribati), Marshalls, Fiji, Norfolk Island and the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu). McMahon's output was impressive. Altogether he had more than 1000 photographs published from 1915 to 1924. He was an archetypal essayist, booster of Australia's colonial opportunities in the Pacific and seeker of public recognition.

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