DECLARING THE GOOD NEWS IN NEW BRITAIN

The Kingdom message had never been proclaimed on the island of New Britain. But that was to change when John and Lena Davison arrived there in July of 1956. They settled at Waterfall Bay, where they were to remain for two and a half years. And those were to be busy and fruitful years.

“Interest in the truth quickly became manifest,” wrote Brother Davison. “But most of the people were illiterate and we were hard pressed to think of ways of getting the truth across to them. We typed out many Bible presentations and, after teaching the ones who could read a little, we got them to help us to teach those who could not read at all. Soon these typed presentations were carried far and wide up and down the coast by interested boat crews that we met. . . .

“Brother Cutforth came to visit us, and it was during his visit that a method of teaching was discussed that made a fine contribution to the preaching and teaching work. We began to use simple pictures drawn on any material that came to hand. Later, we were to find that using chalk and a blackboard made of plywood was an excellent way of getting the meaning of the good news down into the hearts of the people.

“A natural extension of this means of teaching was the use of school exercise books, which were made up with picture presentations drawn in crayon or pen. Dozens of books were made up. But what a job we let ourselves in for! We spent many, many hours drawing up Bible discussion books for all associated. Each time a new subject was taught, it meant adding a new picture with all of its details to everyone’s book. But the hard work that went into the preparation faded into the background as we saw our Bible students become the first local publishers in New Britain. How thrilled we were to have them go with us on the weekends and give their Bible presentations!”

But do not think that witnessing in New Britain was activity of the easiest type. Why, the area is one of the wettest in Papua New Guinea, and often as much as ten inches (25 centimeters) of rain falls in one night! This can have quite an effect. “Once,” reported Brother Davison, “owing to rough seas, the ship that brought our supplies had to put them ashore a few miles along the coast. To get them, we had to cross a flooded crocodile-infested river. The dugout canoe tipped upside down right in the middle of the racing waters. I was underneath, completely submerged, but I held on to part of the outrigger of the canoe. Eventually I got my head above the water. Another canoe put out for us far down the river and managed to pick up all of us just before we were swept out to sea.”

RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION PROVES FUTILE

While the Davisons were busy at Waterfall Bay, other brothers were moving into Rabaul, New Britain, to help with the Kingdom work.

False religious opposition to our work erupted into violence at Vunabal, a village about thirty miles (48 kilometers) from Rabaul. The villagers were of the Sulka tribe, and they were living in among the Tolai community on land the ownership of which was under dispute. Brother and Sister Davison were among those conducting studies in Vunabal. Sister Davison says: “These humble people that we had been studying with were progressing very well. Then the Roman Catholic Church decided to do something to stop the work.”

So it was that on Sunday, April 5, 1959, while John Davison was conducting a Bible study with a big group of Sulka people, a large mob of Tolai Catholics under the leadership of a certain catechist suddenly pushed their way into the house and brought the study to a halt by their shouting and abuse. In the meantime, other members of the mob disrupted Bible studies being conducted in other homes. The mob threatened to take stronger action if the Witnesses returned the following Sunday. This interference was reported to the police officer at Kokopo and he investigated the matter.

This, however, was not the end of the story. Sister Davison reported: “The next weekend we were busy preparing to go to the village as usual when one of the interested men from the village arrived very short of breath, having ridden his bicycle in great haste the thirty miles [48 kilometers] to town. He came to tell us that there was going to be trouble, as the European priest had sent a number of his people to the village the day before to erect an altar. He was going to hold a service in the village at the same time we usually were there to conduct our studies. This was done in spite of the objections of the local villagers.

“As we were expecting trouble that Sunday morning, we called in at Kokopo to inform the police about what was happening. The sub-inspector ordered six local policemen into the police van and went ahead of us to the village. The road was lined for miles with jeering Catholics. When we arrived at the village, we found this priest, with several hundred Tolais, about to start his service. The sub-inspector pushed his way through to where the priest was standing and asked him to leave, taking his followers with him, as they had not been invited by the villagers to conduct a service there. The priest ignored the police and went ahead with his service, which took about an hour.

“When he was finished, the police opened a path through the mob and called us to go into the village. We did this with misgivings. By this time the interested Suika people seemed dazed and very much afraid, but they followed us into the house and seated themselves. We could hear the priest talking loudly in Tolai to his ‘flock,’ which by this time had swelled to several hundred in number. The shouting outside became louder, making both Sister Gannaway and me very uneasy. We were comforted, though, in the knowledge that the police had surrounded the house. About twenty minutes after we had started our meeting, the sub-inspector entered the room with a very worried look on his face. He asked whether we could close the meeting soon, as the mob was getting out of hand and he did not have enough police to protect us. So, the brothers closed the study and we went outside.

“Then there was pandemonium! The mob seemed demonized, and rushed toward us swearing, spitting and shaking their fists, while the priest stood with folded arms and smiled. The police managed to get us to the road. Then Sister Gannaway and I were left without protection as the police went back to get some of the interested villagers who were being molested by the mob. I looked up and, to my horror, saw a wild-eyed man filled with hatred walking toward us. We did not panic, but walked at a normal pace. I prayed to Jehovah to remember us in the resurrection.

“Just then a tall man rushed up, took my arm, and said: ‘Don’t be afraid. I won’t let them touch you!’ He hurried us to the car, opened the door and pushed us in. Just as we reached the car, Brothers Davison and Gannaway came along with the sub-inspector. The police put some of the interested villagers into the police van and we managed to drive away slowly. We drove a few miles and then stopped to talk over the incident. The sub-inspector was still shaken from the experience. He said: ‘This is the closest shave I have had since I have been in the police force.’”

Back in the village the mob broke the blackboards and ripped up the Bibles, roughly handling the remaining villagers before going off to their own villages. The sub-inspector took the matter to court, but the local catechist was not punished. Although many persons were scared off by this mob action, Paulas Lamo, one local individual who went through this trouble, continued to progress in his knowledge of the truth and has been a faithful dedicated brother for some years now. At present the Davisons are faithfully serving in the circuit work.