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The academic who loved learning
At a glance: Ronald Gordon Crocombe
He was always learning - A son’s eulogy
Why he was different
OBE dedicated to husband and teacher
Tributes to a mentor and a friend
A critical voice in history
Kua inga i tetai tumu rakau marumaru
He had the clearest view of Utopia
Atenisi honours Cook Islands professor
He told us to tell our stories
A man of all seasons
He was not an Ivory Tower academic
Different eyes
Farewell beloved Friend
Personal tribute:
The warmth of his encouragement kept our fires burning
His inspiration will never be forgotten
Tributes from university colleagues
The Totara has fallen
His vision: Pacific Studies Campus
The futurist who said ‘Hurry up!”

The academic who loved learning

Emeritus Professor of Pacific Studies Ron Crocombe

From 1989 to present: Papa Ron Crocombe was Professor of Pacific Studies (Emeritus), University of the South Pacific. Since 1989, in addition to continuing work for the University of the South Pacific on a fellowship basis until June 1995, he undertook assignments for the Asian Development Bank, University of Kagoshima (Research Center for the South Pacific), Commonwealth Secretariat, London; Commonwealth Foundation, London; Commonwealth Youth Programme, Honiara; East-West Center, Honolulu; Sri Venkateswara University (Centre for Southeast Asian & Pacific Studies), Tirupati; Prime Minister of Mauritius; Government of the Cook Islands; Smithsonian Institution, Washington; United Nations Secretariat, United Nations Development Programme, University of Auckland, University of Canterbury, University of Oregon, University of Otago; University of Papua New Guinea, University of Wollongong, L’Université du Havre, Manukau Institute of Technology, South Pacific Commission (renamed The Pacific Community), South Pacific Forum (renamed Pacific Islands Forum) and others.
From August 1969/June 1988 he was the founding Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. Up to 1976 he was responsible for all staff, teaching and research in sociology/anthropology, history, and land tenure. In 1976 he was the founding director for the Institute of Pacific Studies, USP until 1985, and undertook interdisciplinary consulting, research, teaching, editing and publishing during this period.
Papa Ron devoted a lot of time facilitating and coordinating research by Pacific Islanders. The work of about 1700 Pacific Islanders had been brought to fruition and published – thanks to Papa Ron.
From June 1965 to August 1969, Papa Ron was the director, New Guinea Research Unit in Port Moresby. There, he was responsible for planning, executing and publishing interdisciplinary research involving economists, anthropologists, geographers and other social scientists. In 1968, he took six months sabbatical leave as senior specialist at East-West Center. He also did further research and an MA course for the departments of agricultural economics, geography and anthropology of University of Hawaii on land tenure & reform in Asia and the Pacific.
Before that, from March 1962 to June 1965 he was a research officer at the New Guinea Research Unit, where he was in charge of research on land tenure and productivity in Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands. During this period he spent leave studying land reform in the Philippines.
In 1964/65 he was a Fulbright exchange professor at the Department of Anthropology, University of California, teaching Pacific cultures, comparative religion and a graduate seminar in land tenure
and reform.
Before going to PNG, he spent time from August 1961 to March 1962 as a research assistant in the Department of Pacific History at the Australian National University. There he microfilmed rare manuscripts in English and the vernacular in the Cook Islands. He also undertook a stint of research in Honolulu.
From July 1958 to July 1961 he was a PhD candidate at ANU in Canberra. He spent 15 months of fieldwork comparing land policies in the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga. He also undertook brief visits to Tokelau, Niue and Fiji. In 1959 he took part in a five week survey of Aboriginal administration in Australia for Professor Leonard Broom at the University of California.
From 1950 to July 1958 he was employed by the Cook Islands Administration & New Zealand Department of Island Territories (Auckland 1950-51, Cook Islands Administration 1951-54, Wellington 1955-57. He was also a resident agent on Atiu from 1957-58. He was also a New Zealand Adviser on South Pacific Commission, Noumea 1956-7).
He did MA courses in economic development and cultural psychology during 1957 but these were not registered for the degree as he was required back in the Cook Islands before the exams.
However he received a special merit award for this in 1957.

He was always learning - A son’s eulogy

Papa Ron and Marjorie’s eldest son Taturoanui (Tata) Crocombe honoured his father with a definitive tribute at his father’s public funeral service this week.
Tata began his eulogy by extending greetings in several Pacific languages.
“Papa thought we should all speak other languages to better understand the people around us,” he said.
Papa Ron spoke many of the Pacific languages including Cook Islands Maori, NZ Maori, French and Tok Pisin.
“He loved the South Pacific. He dedicated his life to education here.”

THE EARLY YEARS

Tata gave a brief history of Papa Ron’s early life growing up in the King Country of New Zealand.
Born in Auckland on October 8 1929, Ron was just months away from his 80th Birthday when he passed away suddenly at the Auckland airport on his way home to Rarotonga last Thursday.
Tata said his father had grown up in a small country town called Piopio and later attended Otahuhu College in Auckland.
Ron adored his mother whom he respected for her strength, sense of family, tolerance and being a helper of people.
Tata said Ron had good Kiwi values and was a ‘salt of the earth’ kind of man.
It was during his youth, Ron told him, that he developed an affinity with the NZ Maori children around him.
As a 19-year-old he developed the ‘travel bug’ and wanted to begin his travels around the world to learn more about the way of life of many cultures.
“He felt that sense there was a big world out there and he wanted to cover every inch of it.”
Tata said it was while sleeping under a bridge in Dresden, Germany, during the beginning of his travels across the globe that Papa Ron had an epiphany.
“He woke up and that was when he decided that he was going to be an educator and he was going to devote his life to the South Pacific.”
Tata said his father talked about his visit to Germany after the war where he saw the destruction in Dresden.
“It really shook him. He asked himself ‘what can we do to stop this from happening again?”
Later visiting Asia, Ron saw the poverty-stricken lives of people and had another epiphany – he would become a vegetarian.

HIS FINAL DAY

Tata said there was nothing surprising about the way Ron’s last day in Auckland went.
“He was always going a hundred miles an hour.”
He described his father as physically frail.
“But you wouldn’t think it given his strength intellectually and his forceful personality.”
As Papa Ron boarded the bus to the airport that day, he was, as always, thinking of home.
“He had five suitcases full of books to bring back to the Cook Islands.”
Tata said his father had been ill for several years and probably should have been taking it easy and not lugging around suitcases of heavy books, travelling and working as hard as he was.
“He’d had a heart attack before and was on medication but he still pushed himself hard.”
Tata said even in his last moments, Ron’s sense of humour shone through.
“He always had time for a joke.”
As the Cook Islands bus driver began CPR on Papa Ron, who had suddenly collapsed on the airport shuttle bus, Tata said his father’s last words were words of humour.
“He looked up at him and said ‘Hey, if you want my bus ticket I’ll give it to you – you don’t have to beat on my chest like that.’ And then he died,” said Tata.
After dinner plans with his father fell through earlier that same day, father and son spent two hours on the phone before he was due to catch his flight back home to Rarotonga.
“We spent two hours on the phone talking about religion, genetics, family, friends, politics – all the things you talk about with Papa Ron. But we mostly talked about my mother who he regarded as the most amazing person.”
Tata said Ron’s love for his mother was very strong and that they had spoken at length of the ceremony they would have to celebrate her OBE award this month.
“He adored our mother. He was delighted beyond words about the honour.”
Tata said, in that respect, it was a tragedy that Ron died on Marjorie’s birthday and before she received the OBE medal.
Looking around at the 500 strong crowd of family and friends at the service, Tata said, “Each one of us had a relationship with Papa Ron. He was a private person but he touched a lot of people in different ways.”
Tata said he treated everyone with the same respect whether it was the man in the street or a prime minister.
His trademark was to stick out his hand and introduce himself as Ron – never using the title Professor.

THE SCHOLAR

Papa Ron was a true scholar in every sense of the word, said Tata.
“He was always learning.”
Tata described the way his father would argue with anybody to get them to understand the Pacific better.
He recounted the way he and his father debated many issues and, in the end, Ron always saying “Yes, but you’re still wrong.”
It was the University of the South Pacific that Ron had a great love for, said his son.
“He believed it could do so much as a centre of learning for all Pacific Islands. He was devoted to the USP at the cost of his health, his family life and his income.”
“He wanted people to find their own reality and do their own research. He said the best way to encourage Pacific people to advance their learning is to get other Pacific people to write about it for them.”
Tata said Ron had been a man ahead of his time. He was talking about Cook Islands independence decades before the advent of self-governance at a time when Cook Islanders were not even thinking that way.

COMMITMENT TO PEOPLE

Tata said Ron’s purpose in life was to help the people of the Pacific Islands.
“He was a bridge builder – someone who always tried to include everyone. He tried to break down barriers between people.”
“His whole career was about giving other people confidence. He was always helping people out.”
Tata said while his father had committed himself to helping Pacific peoples contribute written works for their future generations, and had written many books on Pacific history himself, he also gave most of his money to others.
“He never had much money. His whole life he gave most of his money away. My brother always said he should have been like the priests he respected so much and taken a vow of poverty like them.” Tata recalled conversations he’d had with Ron about what he wanted him to do when he passed on.
He had been and was continuing to pay for student’s university fees over the years as well as helping families make their mortgage payments. He instructed his family to help a long list of people out financially after he passed away so that he would still meet the commitment he had to them.
“You can tell a lot about people from how they treat the less fortunate and how they treat animals,” quipped Tata.
He says he lost count of the animals that his parents kept, the many dogs and cats that surrounded them at home.
But it was his treatment of all the people he met during his lifetime that is his legacy, said Tata.

COOK ISLANDS LOVE

It was shortly after coming to the Cooks that Papa Ron met Marjorie at a party and asked her to marry him.
“A good friend of our father said our mother was lucky to have our father, but he was luckier to be married to her.”
Being married to a Cook Islander for almost 50 years, Papa Ron also considered the country his home.
Tata said becoming a resident agent for Atiu at the age of 27, Papa Ron made lifelong friends there including Atiu’s Ada Rongomatane Ariki, and would continue to have a connection to the island for the rest of his life.
His father had traveled the world before arriving in the Cooks, but it held a special place in his heart as the place he would come to call home.

Why he was different

• Papa Ron thought life was a privilege
  
• He always had time for a joke
  
• He was a man ahead of his time
  
• He was quick to forgive and believed it was better to bury the hatchet
• He set himself high standards
  
• Papa was always helping people
  
• He studied the philosophies of the world
  
• He never had much money and what he did have he gave to others
  
• He never stopped learning
  
• His career was focused on helping people and giving them confidence to help themselves
  
• A true scholar
  
• It was generally unknown that he had been on medication after a previous heart attack
  
• He looked like a professor with his ‘raggedy’ style. He had zero-dress sense.
  
• He bought clothes for Tata that he didn’t like and didn’t fit him
  
• Papa Ron could cook just one dish and was a vegetarian.
  

OBE dedicated to husband and teacher

Prominent Cook Islands academic Marjorie Crocombe dedicated her OBE award to her husband Ron Crocombe in a powerful tribute to the man she loved for half a century on the day he was laid to rest.
On Wednesday she received the OBE medal for services to her country and the Pacific, especially in education, literature and community services.
At his public funeral service at the National Auditorium, Marjorie said, “I dedicate this beautiful medal to Ron, because his teaching of me enabled me to go and teach others. Thank you, Ron.”
Earlier in the day she had spoken about her medal being a tribute to her late husband, a man she referred to as her greatest critic and the person who contributed to her achievements.
“He was the most wonderful man I ever lived with. And he was the only man I ever lived with for 50 years.”
She said the award was for all the women in the Cook Islands for their work to improve the conditions for Pacific women.
“I was going to turn this (award) down, because Ron didn’t have one. But he told me I had to take it for all the women I’ve worked with.”
Marjorie said she and Ron were Pacific people dedicated to helping other Pacific people realise their own work in literature, education and addressing women’s issues. - Helen Greig

Tributes to a mentor and a friend

Indelible gloom

The sudden passing away of Papa Ron Crocombe has exacted an indelible gloom on every person who has had the privilege of knowing him. And I am no different to the countless multitudes who owe him so much, knowing that there was absolutely no way we can ever repay Papa Ron for his love, his wise counsel, his friendship, and especially being Papa Ron.
The very least we can do is to initiate a festschrift as a befitting eternal memorial to a very dear Cook Islander. There are numerous renowned academics around the world who would be honoured to do this, and probably will.
May you rest in peace Papa Ron.

Navy Epati

Wisdom and vigour

I was shocked to hear of the sudden passing away of Papa Ron Crocombe. Papa Ron inspired many of our up and coming academics. His passing is a great loss to many of us who look up to him as an authority in our Pacific cultures, language and history and the way we do things uniquely different from others around the world.
Papa Ron’s untimely death is a loss to many of our peoples in the Pacific who knew him. I have studied and progressed with the encouragement of Papa Ron, and even when things become difficult, Papa Ron always said, “Let’s look at it from the other angle.” It is always the other angle on the bright side of things, that he refers to.
I am grateful to have been associated with a great man of wisdom; a man with so much vigour and passion. I will miss his presence, and the gracious manner and the kind words of wisdom for a very long time. Aere Ra, Papa Ron.
My family join with me in expressing to Marjorie and the family, our deepest sympathy in this time of sorrow.

Jonah Tisam and family

Distinguished leader lost

Please help us pass our deepest condolences to Majorie, Tata, Kevin, Ngaire and Sam on the passing of a very dear friend, adviser and companion. We have no ‘immigrant community’ in the Cook Islands. That is not our way since, as Papa Ron Crocombe once instructed me, ‘we each establish our credentials on Cook Islands terms’. But, if we did have such a community, it would be mourning a distinguished leader, such as very few others have had the privilege of knowing, anywhere in the world.
We are deeply saddened and wish to say simply, Thank you, Ron.
David and Terupe Lewis and all our family in Rarotonga, New Zealand, England, Tahiti and Brunei.
Unselfish passion for others
The untimely passing away of Papa Ron was a shock to us all. My connection to the Crocombe family was through Tata, when we schooled together at St Stephen’s College in Auckland.
Later, as president of the Cook Islands Students Association at USP, Papa Ron and Marjorie became our “adopted” parents in Suva. They opened their home for our functions and gatherings. More recently, during the Economic Forum hosted by the Research Association, of which Papa Ron was President, Papa Ron spoke to me at some length about the need for further post graduate studies and higher education for aspiring Cook Islands students in such places as Hawaii, China and Singapore. Papa Ron freely gave advice and words of wisdom on whatever subject matter was asked of him.
Occasionally, Papa Ron would call me to say what he thought about a certain political or economic issue. He was always direct, honest and never one to mix his words! What struck me was his deep insight into governance issues. He particularly loathed politicians and civil servants who “misused authority and public funds”. Always pushing the anti corruption agenda, he provided views that were entrenched in values, integrity and ethics.
He lent to our office two non fiction books titled, Asian Godfathers – money and power in Asia, and Blood Brothers – crime, business and politics in Asia. He was unselfish in his passion for others to learn and develop, especially as far as Cook Islanders and, in general, Pacific islanders were concerned.
He recently completed two research surveys on Public Adminstration, Governance and Accountability, ably assisted by Elizabeth Ponga, a recent USP MBA graduate.
I admired Papa Ron, not only for his academic and schorlarly knowledge and wit, but more so for his command of the spoken Maori language, very similar to my Uncle Don O’Brien, which really signifies how he felt about his adopted Pacific Culture, Language and Customs.
Aere ra e Papa Ron, na Te Atua koe e tiaki.

Paul Allsworth,
Director of Audit

Aue! Ka hinga te totara i te wao nui a Tane

Ron was a special person and a good friend I first met in university days. I was lucky to have known him, and I mourn his loss with all those many others whose life he enriched.
How like him to have been doing what he did best right up to the end!
Alan Armstrong
He believed in independence
One of my most vivid memories of Ron was at a party for a gathering of Pacific scholars at his and Marjie’s house in Suva in 1979. I remember Ron standing over the map of the Pacific set into the living room floor making a point about some aspect of the early settlement of the Pacific.
I was just a beginner in Pacific History and Ron’s knowledge of the Pacific made an incredible impact on me that evening. It provided much encouragement for my subsequent career in Pacific Studies.
On the same evening Ron and Harry Maude (frail and sitting on the couch) attempted to perform a meke which provided entertainment for everyone. It also made me more comfortable to be in the company of those gurus of Pacific Studies.
Ron inspired me through:
His intellect and scholarship
His energy and perseverance
His humanity and compassion
His thirst for knowledge
His quest for solutions
His sense of fairness and balance
His spirit of adventure
His idealism and convictions.
Ron was acutely aware of the imbalances and biases manifested in the policies and practices of colonialism in the Pacific. He believed strongly that only independence and the full participation of Pacific Islanders in defining and articulating the future destinies of their island countries was the way forward.
He relentlessly pursued this vision during his whole working life in the Pacific.
I wish I could be there to farewell him – Bangladesh is too far away.
Alofa atu to Marjie, Ngaire, Tata, and Kevin

Malama Meleisea
Director,
UNESCO Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh

His leadership was immense

Every time I read or refer to something he wrote (and that is often) I think of that bearded, tilted face, eyes gleaming, and Ron asking a demanding question, uttering a shrewd judgement, urging some positive endeavour – always, always, always advancing, supporting and encouraging we Pacific people to work together, take responsibility and be strong. His leadership was immense; we thank Marjorie and their family for sharing him with us; we will long remember him with honour and admiration.

Ian Johnstone, Wellington

Will things ever change?

“That’s just the way it is.... But don’t you believe them.”
So go the lyrics of the song by Bruce Hornsby (younger readers will recognise the song sampled by 2pac’s ghost in his 1999 song Changes). When I think of this song I’m reminded of a couple of things – one of them is the Papa Ron and the other is the seemingly irreversible decline our country has been in for the last... I don’t know how long.
The song goes “that’s just the way it is, some things will never change...”. It is something that Papa Ron would often tell us as he would recount his own numerous experiences in attempting to change our nation, and others, with various public reform projects or political reform initiatives, and telling us how all of them failed due, to either self interest, arrogance, ignorance and most often, a combination of all three.
In my short career I have been involved in only a few of these initiatives, and each time he was there telling me the futility of my efforts, and there were many others who continue to proclaim the absolute hopelessness of trying to change anything. ‘That’s just the way it is,’ we say. And that is what Papa Ron would tell me. But his actions spoke otherwise.
Despite the numerous misadventures of different governments and his advice and efforts falling on deaf ears or shelved in the dark recesses of archives, he persisted in his efforts to help the people and government, evidenced through the vast amount of work he committed himself to throughout the decades up until the day of his passing.
What a shame it is that during the span of his long and prolific working life, the problems we faced 30, 20, and 10 years ago are the same problems that have gone unaddressed and we still face today (and are for the most part even worse). Is it just the way it is? Will things ever change?
Papa Ron might have shared this pessimistic/realistic opinion, but his conscience would not allow him to just do nothing and this is why he distinguished himself, through his efforts and actions. His head might have told him it wasn’t worth it, but his heart wouldn’t let him believe it.
I will not forget his words of advice to me, and moreover his contribution and efforts, and I fear what might happen without him, as they say, ‘Evil prospers when good men do nothing.’
We lost not just a good man, but a great man who leaves a large void to fill in our society with his passing.
To me he was a man who, in the end, always let his actions speak louder than his words.

Petero Okotai

Condolences

Marguerite Story and the whole of the Story family give their deepest condolences to Marjorie and the Crocombe family for their loss and a big loss to the nation. From your friend

Marguerite Story O.B.E.

A critical voice in history

The Pacific History Association was formed in 1981 and Professor Ron Crocombe was a long-time member, active participant and supporter of the association. He also provided a critical voice to the Pacific History Association – always advocating support for island scholars and suggesting ways we could engage in this with external organisations.
Ron attended, presented papers and spoke at several of Pacific History Association’s biennial conferences. For Ron, speaking at these events was not just recitation but prodding and provoking. Many of our members will recall Ron’s provocative keynote address at our last conference in Suva in 2008: ‘Stretching Pacific History, forwards, backwards, sideways and inwards’.
Ron’s publications (beginning with Land Tenure in the Pacific Islands (Oxford University Press, 1963) had a huge impact with historians, other academics and people outside universities. Ron embraced a multi-disciplinary approach to academia, most evident with The South Pacific, that went into its 7th edition in 2008.
Ron was also a pioneer in supporting Pacific Peoples to publish especially through his role as Director of the University of the South Pacific’s, Institute of Pacific Studies. His tireless editing and support of this has bequeathed several important books for our young and future Pacific historians – to read, extend and critique.
Many PHA members also recall Ron’s generosity and inclusiveness. This extended from personal hospitality, to support for a scholarship, to a friendly smile and joke. We took this with his criticisms and challenges.
The Pacific History Association both mourns and celebrates Ron’s legacy. Our thoughts are with Marjorie Crocombe and her and Ron’s family.

Associate Professor Jacqueline Leckie
Vice-President, Pacific History Association,
University of Otago
www.pacifichistoryassociation.com

Kua inga i tetai tumu rakau marumaru

Kia Papa Ron … te Papa o te akapuanga kite … te Papa tei inangaro i te akaora i te au peu taito na roto i te putuputuanga koia te Cook Islands Research Association.
Te tataraapa atu nei au ki te kopu tangata katoatoa e kare au i tae mai katoa no te akamaara’anga i te oraanga o Papa Ron.
I toku aravei mua anga ia Papa Ron koia oki i te tuatau i puapii ei au i Atiu. Na roto i te tauturu a Papa Ron raua ko Aunty Marj i rauka ei i te apii Atiu i te rave atu i tetai teata no runga i te au manu i runga ia Takutea.
I na roto katoa oki ia Papa Ron e Aunty Marj tetai au meitaki tei rauka i te apii i Atiu i te tuatau ia raua e angaanga ara i Viti.
Kua mataora katoa au i te akamata’anga raua i te putuputuanga koia te Cook Islands Research Association kia rauka mai tetai kite no roto mai i te au tangata katoatoa o te Kuki Airani nei.
I te tuatau i akamata ei aia i te uipaanga mua tikai kua rauka mai iaku tetai au kite kare rave au i kite ana i mua atu ana. Kua akaoki mai a Papa Ron i tetai au Papa kua akangaroi i te angaanga moni e kua apii mai ia matou i tetai au akonoanga taito, te ka ngaro me kare e akaora akaou ia. Kua mataora katoa oki te reira uipaanga … ko tana araara i te reira ra … mataora tikai te kite atu i te mapu tei tae mai ki te uipaanga.
Ka ngaro te mata o Papa Ron mei teia nei ao, kareka ra tona rongo, ka vai rai te reira e mutukore uatu.
Spread your wings and fly to the heavens. You will always be here with us, till we meet again.
With all my love.

Janet Holmes (nee Mateariki)
Auckland, New Zealand

He had the clearest view of Utopia

Professor Ron Crocombe had an extensive and successful career as a university professor, writer, lecturer and speaker not only in the Pacific and Asia but truly globally.
He was a rare gem and the Cook Islands is the richer that he chose to make this his home and base for his knowledge and influence in not only academia but also in government and regional organisations.
His many books on the region and covering many topics remain classics and many have become text books at universities and reference books for governments and international organisations.
I have many fond memories of Ron and my three months working closely with him in the Commission for Political Review in 1998.
He had the clearest view of Utopia of any one I have ever come across, but had difficulty understanding why others could not see or follow the vision. He was a purist and wanted to change the world.
He had an answer for everything backed up by reference from a multitude of sources. He could communicate at any level and had the intellect to out talk anyone on any topic. His purist views and ideals got him into strife many a time.
During the writing of the Commission report on Political Review, we had many wonderful in-depth discussions and arguments.
Ron suffered no fools and indeed had a cynical regard for fly-by-night politicians who manipulated their way into the political system. He had such a depth of knowledge that he was not afraid to speak his truth.
He was the backbone in writing our report and I am always awed by his ability to put even the most complex concepts into simple English that the ordinary person can read and understand.
I also saw another side of Ron – a caring and genuine man who saw and was able to empathise with the ordinary person.
He loved the Cook Islands and the people. He was ready to help any person and was never interested in rewards or payment.
Together with Margie, they tirelessly encouraged, cajoled, and assisted many people to write their story about their experiences of life. They were the catalyst behind many people in the Pacific who have written their stories in books, articles and other literary media.
Ron was one man who truly deserved the highest award this country could have given – and it is to our loss that none was given, not that he cared for it.
I will miss the many coffees and discussions with a dear friend and mentor.
(This tribute is repeated from Saturday June 20 because of its merit.)

By Iaveta Short

Atenisi honours Cook Islands professor

Professor Ron Crocombe was still receiving academic honours just days before his death.
Two weeks ago, he joined five other international academics to be inducted as fellows of Tonga’s Atenisi University. The tertiary institution embraces both the scientific and democratic ideals advanced by the ancient Greeks and is the only university in the Pacific that is independent of both religion and government.
Those taking part in the Atenisi ceremony included (from left) Dr David Robie, Dr Ian Campbell, Professor Futua Helu, Dr Opeti Taliai, Dr Wendy Cowling and prime minister Dr Feleti Sevele and Dr Ron Crocombe.
Robie said his fellow inductee was a great achiever “even in his so-called retirement”.
“While at Atenisi, he spoke strongly of the achievements of founding Professor Futa Helu and 40 years of education at the university and institute. He donated a collection of books to the university.
“He continued to work tirelessly for the South Pacific region as an inspiration, critical thinker, adviser to governments and politicians, mentor to Pacific writers and researchers, and contributor to developing a strong regional civil society,” Robie said.

He told us to tell our stories

Upon hearing of Papa Ron Crocombe’s death, I was saddened but felt somewhat consoled because in my last meeting with him, we said our goodbyes.
He and I were both on the bus heading to the Auckland International Airport on Sunday June 14 at 5 o’clock in the morning. We chatted happily about a number of things and he was besides himself with laughter as I told him of my latest close call as a Cabinet Minister over the Westminster Parliamentary collective rules of Cabinet. When we got to the airport, we hugged each other and he flew to Tonga and I went to Samoa. Coincidently, we were scheduled to return to Rarotonga on the same flight last Thursday when we returned from our respective trips. I was driven to the airport by a friend and Papa Ron was on the bus when he died.
Papa Ron Crocombe encouraged those he felt had ability and stories to tell to write about their impressions.
He did with me and he has collaborated with other authors around the Pacific and internationally on publications that have become major authorities on the Pacific.
Specifically, he assisted in the publication of several texts from a fomer Tongareva MP, Nihi Vini, and they were working on much bigger collaboration about Tongareva culture. In turn, Papa Ron helped demystify land ownership and rights by drawing on examples from atolls around the Pacific including those in the Cook Islands and he comprehensively captured Pacific people’s moods of politics, religion, economics in his major work called ‘The South Pacific’.
He showed his huge knowledge and research work on his recent book called ‘Asia in the Pacific’ that I have no doubt has helped many scholars and interested people in Pacific affairs. I call this book the culmination of his prophesy, which he made in an Auckland University guest lectureship some 20 years ago.
In that lecture he said, the Pacific’s face and economic landscape will be Asianised as we enter the new millenium. I was a student at the time and I can vouch that what he predicted has come true.
What more can one say of a man who unselfishly and deliberately set out on a life mission to ‘publish’ or get other’s, especially Pacific Islanders, to do the same in order to capture their ‘very essence’.
To me, Papa Ron is a wise man, a sage, to whom every Pacific Islands scholar, author, poet, artist and aspirant owes the cultivation of a free spirit to acquire knowledge and be confident in it.
Wilkie Rasmussen is the Member of Parliament for Tongareva and a Cabinet Minister

By Willie Rasmussen

A man of all seasons

The passing away of Papa Ron Crocombe is indeed the passing of a great man.
The greatness of the man was not only that he was a great scholar, historian, commentator and distinguished academic Professor Emeritus, but also that he recognised the potential in everyone regardless of their station in life.
And more than often, he went beyond to assist those in need, the tangata rikiriki. Towards this end, he was able to relate his wealth of knowledge and wisdom with all his heart to very ordinary people.
Whether he was presenting a lecture to a distinguished audience of academics, or lecturing or just chatting with students about to start university, and even with a group of school students, or with others in a social setting, Papa Ron knew exactly what to say and how to say it in a language that was understandable to this diverse audience.

In his 30 years of dedicated service at the University of the South Pacific Laucala campus, Professor Crocombe touched the lives of many students and fellow academics/lecturers; which included resident Cook Islands students, regional students, new lecturers to USP. He made time for students and colleagues on top of a very loaded schedule. Papa Ron and Mama Marjie’s home was ‘home away’ for many many students.
Many of Professor Crocombe’s former students became prominent figures in the region; in Government and the private sector as politicians, academics, writers, artists, and leading business and community leaders.
Prof Crocombe developed many lasting friendships in the Pacific and internationally; which included the founding fathers of the contemporary South Pacific – prominent leaders like the late Ratu Kamisese Mara, Sir Robert Rex, Dr Hammer De Robert, Father Walter Lini, Michael Somare and many others. Friendships amongst his circle of prominent academics, included Professor Futa Helu, Dr Kavaliku, the late Prof Asesela Ravuvu, the late Dr James Maraj, Dr Howard Van Trease, Prof Brij Lal and numerous others. Prof Crocombe most certainly enriched these relationships, and by the same token he also gained much from sharing with academics from a diversity of backgrounds.
Professor Crocombe was a prolific reader and writer, historian and commentator. His capacity to converse in many languages enabled him to enter the minds and hearts of people across many cultures.
He recognised the urgency and need for Pacific Islanders to write their own histories, customs, language and cultures, and debate on contemporary issues. The establishment of the Institute of Pacific Studies is one of the many legacies he left for Pacific People in which to create their own place in history. Many publications emanated from the Institute such as Pacific Way. His vision and sincerity of desire and commitment towards this worthy course saw the birth and growth of Pacific writers and artists.
Many Cook Islanders and many more Pacific Islanders will remember the spirited generosity of this great man. The founding of the Cook Islands Research Institute just over one year ago, is yet another legacy Prof Crocombe has gifted to the people of the Cook Islands – let every Cook Islands person remember that, and let him/her continue the mission that Prof Crocombe has instigated.
More affectionately known as Papa Ron to family, friends and generally the Cook Islands community, Papa Ron had a big heart and huge generosity of spirit that embraced people from all walks of life. With Mama Marjie, Papa Ron had unconditional love for his children and grandchildren, and of course, this love and care spilled into the Cook Islands extended families.
We will remember this great and amazing man; a pillar of inexhaustible energy and flowing fountain of knowledge and wisdom.
Aere ra e te teia Pu Rakau Marumaru – Metua Tane akono meitaki.

John Herrmann

He was not an Ivory Tower academic

There won’t be another Ron Crocombe in our lifetime, if ever IT SAYS a lot about the nature of the world we live in that I received the news of Ron Crocombe’s death via email in Switzerland where I am on holidays. The message is brief: Ron was on his way back to Rarotonga from Nukualofa via Auckland when he suffered a massive heart attack and died on a bus to the airport.
No doubt more details will become available in due course as obituaries are written and assessments made of the contribution Ron made to the development of Pacific studies at the University of the South Pacific, where he taught from 1969 onwards before becoming an emeritus professor.

I suspect Ron would be happy the way he went: mobile and alert, returning from an academic gathering of distinguished peers, talking and listening while crisscrossing his beloved Pacific Ocean.
Ron had written to me just a few weeks ago about Fiji, saying how sad he was with the way things were there. I had met Ron in person the last time at the PHA Conference in Suva last December. He was in fine form, as always: lively, energetic, full of anecdotes about this Pacific personality or that, full of opinion about everything under the sun.
That was Ron, or one side of him. He was more busy in retirement than when he was a fulltime academic, he said. Tome after fat tome testified to his inexhaustible thirst for knowledge about things Pacific.
He appeared to know everything and everybody who ever worked on the Pacific. Kenneth Emory: yes, and he would recall some event to make a point. Douglas Oliver, Jim Davidson, Harry Maude, Oskar Spate, ‘Jack’ Crawford, John Gunther, Dick Gilson. That kind of knowledge in one person is now hard to imagine. Ron was one of a kind. There won’t be another Ron Crocombe in our lifetime, if ever.
Ron taught me at USP in the early 1970s. I particularly remember his course on Advanced Pacific History. The course ranged from prehistory to the future of the postcolonial Pacific. We were not expected to master every topic, but after a broad introduction, Ron expected us to choose a topic and do an in-depth study of it.
Despite his affable nature, Ron was a stickler for standards, a task master who did not hesitate to push you near to the edge. He saw a talent for history in me, but I think he wanted me to work on something more in the present.
Ron had an instrumentalist view of history: as a means to an end, not as an end in itself. Why would a bright lad like me want to be marooned in the past? But he encouraged me nonetheless.
Ron was not a disciplined lecturer. Discipline was ‘alien’ to him. A lecture on prehistory could traverse a very large field, even venture into the present. But that did not matter. He had his reading list, and he expected us to do the learning on our own. He was not an Ivory Tower academic. That side of him impressed me deeply, perhaps even influenced my own intellectual development.
Ron was personally kind to me. As I was finishing my undergraduate degree, Ron wrote to at least two dozen places around the world, from SOAS to the East-West Centre, singing my praises and urging them to accept me (on a scholarship). Eventually, the University of British Columbia did. Its head of History Department, Margaret Prang, was on a cruise ship in Suva. Ron pleaded with her to give me a teaching assistantship in her department. She did: a full graduate fellowship. Ron then arranged with Canadian Pacific to fly me over to Vancouver at their own expense. I shall never forget his personal generosity. Over the years, I disagreed with Ron on many things, but a deep residue of respect for him remained. For Ron, disagreements and debates were never personal. I have a lot to learn from his example.
Ron will be remembered for many things, but perhaps most of all for his work in facilitating the study of the Pacific islands by Pacific islanders themselves through the Institute of Pacific Studies at USP. His vision was right for its time: for its time, I would emphasise. He hoped that after the initial encouragement, those who wanted to pursue an academic career would enter more rigorous institutions for further training. Few did, content to rest on their USP laurels. In private, Ron sometimes muttered his disappointments, but his overall enthusiasm for things Pacific and for Pacific Islanders remained undimmed.
In his early years at USP, Ron was an important institution builder. He founded the South Pacific Social Sciences Association which published a number of important monographs. He founded the journal ‘Pacific Perspectives’ which lasted for about 10 years. With Marjorie Crocombe and Albert Wendt, he was instrumental in setting up the South Pacific Creative Arts Society, which published the literary journal Mana. He was the organiser of the first ‘Pacific Way’ conference in Suva in the early 1970s from which came the influential publication The Pacific Way: Social Issues in National Development. The list goes on.
Ron’s passing marks the end of an era in the evolution of Pacific studies. He was there at creation, so to speak, and he saw the emergence of a new era with different intellectual and cultural concerns. I am not sure that he totally approved of the new trends. He was a man with his feet firmly on the ground.
I feel sad that Ron is not among us today. It is hard to believe that he is not. But he lived a long and rich life with his beloved Marjorie, and has left behind a legacy that will remain long after many of us are gone.
Vinaka vakalevu, Ron, moce maca.

Brij V Lal
Brij V Lal is professor of Pacific and Asian history at Australian National University’s Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies.

Different eyes

this global life gives us light and love
but it also gives us death
like living inside a dream
like being buried alive
turning into grass a heilala hidden
amidst the exotic flowers of our lost salusalu
their soft fragrance drowned in the strenuous sounds
of our rational minds you came
took away our fears, heard our silent songs
felt our pain of not being able to go back
you asked questions we never pondered
noticed what we took for granted
(or didn’t want to notice)
and we followed barefooted along the path you paved
now we look at tomorrow with different eyes
the truths about us weigh us down.

Konai Helu Thaman (from Kakala, 1993)
Written for Ron Crocombe on the eve of his departure from the University of the South Pacific in 1989.

Farewell beloved friend

So many lives touched by you
Sacrifices some of us knew
The people you helped in many ways
Will cherish you for many days
And we will all miss you
Although you’ve gone we’ll think of you:
With memories you knew
We never thanked you for the love you gave
Now we say goodbye trying to be brave
But oh we’ll miss you
Farewell beloved friend: follow the light
Though your journey will enter the night
I know the Lord, is waiting for you
Farewell beloved friend, we will remember you
We pray that the Lord will always be with you .

Personal tribute:

For many years, Professor Ron Crocombe has been a leading brilliant analytical voice of regional and national political, economic and social issues. His constant search for truth through his writings often revealed new insights, perceptions and reconnections. He was the warrior standing at the pinnacle of an accumulated national political and social conscious. He was one of my mentors and I am a better person for having known him. Papa Ron, thank you: for your wisdom, advice and honesty. I will surely and dearly miss you. Aere ra. Te Atua te aro‘a motukore.
Words, music and tribute by
Professor Jon Tikivanotau M. Jonassen

The warmth of his encouragement kept our fires burning

To a man of letters and his wife, who maintained their faith with the practising Visual Artists of the Cook Islands, might I say a few words as our humble offering, to recognise your passing, for much has been said already by the more articulate.
How honoured and proud we felt when you came to our Art Exhibitions, scrutinised, observed and commented upon our pictorial offerings to the world.
Even those of us who work quietly at home, experienced the warmth of encouragement that kept our fires burning.
The direct and honest way in which you approached us was always appreciated, giving us books, words, knowledge, experience and caution that gave understanding to this world.
You travelled like the Tavake and the Honu about our mighty ocean and saw much more than we will ever see, but your legacy will remain with us always, to be interpreted in our artwork and future lives.
In the journey you are about to embark on, you will find a place of honour in the home of our Ancestors.
Ted Nia On behalf of Cook Islands Artists
AUT gratitude
The A.U.T. Masters of Art and Design pod in Rarotonga would like to extend our deepest sympathy to Marjorie and the Crocombe family on the recent passing away of Papa Ron Crocombe. Professor Crocombe gave his time and knowledge freely to our group and his insight, enthusiasm, knowledge and experience will be greatly missed by all.
Joan Gragg, Kay George, Krick Barraud, Eurera Nia, Loretta Reynolds and Andrea Eimke

His inspiration will never be forgotten

By Mahiriki Tangaroa
I first met Papa Ron at the age of eight and as a child distinctly remember a man of great kindness and generosity – it was usually $10 for me and $5 for my brother.
This gesture was never forgotten. It was later on in my 20s when I shifted to Rarotonga that I began to know the true greatness of his generosity.
Papa Ron’s words of wisdom gave strength and confidence. He gave confidence by way of encouraging you to challenge yourself and in doing so experience the excitement and thrill of learning and achieving. When we achieve, we then have the ability to help others and perhaps encourage others in the same way.
Papa Ron’s views on the visual arts were of questionable doubt although had it not been for his continued support and presence at the many art exhibition openings that he attended (in Rarotonga and
New Zealand), I would have sadly taken his views to heart.
When I started out painting, I distinctly remember him commenting that my use of colour was somewhat depressing, he regarded the work as ‘grim and ashy’, these were his exact words. Over the years he became more excited as the colour began to emerge which he felt was a result of my own development – not in an artistic sense.
His support of the visual arts was also present in the way he extended his hospitality to visiting artists, curators and art academics. Many fellow colleagues were welcomed at the Nikao residence where he would generously give his time to discuss the arts.
On behalf of our family, an association that extends before my time, we bid you farewell. Your generosity, inspiration and the happiness and joy that you brought to us will never be forgotten.

Tributes from university colleagues

Professor Rajesh Chandra
Vice-Chancellor

Colleagues and the University Community will be saddened to learn of the death on 18th June 2009 of Emeritus Professor of Pacific Studies, Ron Crocombe.
Professor Crocombe joined the USP as its founding Professor of Pacific Studies in 1969, a key position that was intended to define and guide teaching and research in sociology, anthropology, history, land tenure and reform, local government, politics, and regionalism at the University of the Pacific, and what an amazing job he did.
It is fair to say than R.G. Crocombe remains the leading academic of our region, a man whose career was peppered with awards and public addresses at leading international conferences, and whose publication list runs to 30 pages. He was a prolific writer, so passionate and so knowledgeable about his Pacific, that it is almost impossible to summarise his oeuvre.
He was the author of more than 20 books, beginning with the influential Land Tenure in the Pacific Islands (Oxford University Press, 1963) and culminating in the 644-page Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West (USP, 2007). His encyclopaedic book The South Pacific went into its 7th Edition in 2008. In the section on regionalism he wrote:
More than some regions of the world (e.g. Latin America), each Island nation differs from others in language, culture, and feelings of identity. Despite more language fragmentation than anywhere else on earth, when people want to cooperate in negotiations with non-indigenous partners, their ‘Pacifc-ness’ is emphasized and has some reality. Likewise with the culture areas, which are distinguished by broad ethnic and geographical criteria. (p. 558)
Oceania regionalism became pronounced from 1972 with the formation of the South pacific Forum (since 2000 named the Pacific Islands Forum) which deals with political and economic issues. Harmony has often been achieved by avoiding contentious issues within countries (the things that matter) while criticising similar issues in countries that are not members. From time to time Australia and New Zealand will take a stance in the Forum which is contrary to the others, usually on issues of industry or ethnicity, and there will be talk of doing without them. (p. 560)
Ron will also be remembered, particularly during his time at the helm of USP’s Institute of Pacific Studies, as an energetic facilitator of the publication of research by Pacific Island peoples. Around 1700 such people had their work published by IPS when Ron was there. He also mentored many Pacific islanders many of whom are now prominent leaders in various circles in governments and regional organisations.
Yet of all the island countries in the Pacific, it was his home country of the Cook Islands with which he felt the closest ties, something manifested by his numerous writings on the country, the last major one of which was the splendid Cook Islands Culture (USP, 2002), edited with his wife Marjorie Tua’inekore Crocombe.
Ron was a humble man, disdainful of hypocrisy and of self-proclaimed experts, who devoted his professional life to explaining the Pacific to those from elsewhere, and both rationalising and glorifying the Pacific to those from within it. A scholar and a gentleman, Ron Crocombe is sadly missed by his numerous friends and admirers at the University of the South Pacific.
He will be remembered with enormous respect by all those with whom he worked and those he taught.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Marjie and family as we bid farewell to one of the Pacific’s most illustrious and loved academics, colleague and friend.

Professor Crosbie Walsh

For over 50 years Ron’s name has been known and respected throughout the Pacific Islands.
He first influenced me when, as a masterate student in 1960, I read his critique of NZ policies in the Cook Islands, where he had been a district officer. This writing and his book on land use in Rarotonga, that unravelled traditional and colonial influences, were ground-breaking for their time.
We had not long started to question the munificence of colonial rule.
From the Cooks Ron went to PNG where he was director of the New Guinea Research Unit (1962-69) and then to the University of the South Pacific. There he founded the Institute of Pacific Studies to encourage Pacific writers.
He wrote The New South Pacific, based on extension lectures: a mix of history, anthropology and Ron, that caused many to rethink their notions on the Pacific.
There is much, much more, but I have no doubt that his most important contribution was in helping young Pacific Islanders, who up until then had been fed a diet of European education and values, gain confidence in themselves and their cultural heritage.
Today his former students number among the Pacific’s leaders and foremost academics. His later writings were among the first to draw attention to the increasing importance of Asia in the Pacific.
Ron never retired. For close to 20 years he commuted between the home he shared with wife Marjorie Tuainekore in Rarotonga and his ongoing Pacific commitments in various parts of the world.
Only a month ago he emailed me expressing dismay on what he took to be my pro-Fiji government stance. It was not the first time we had differed but I’m sorry that our last exchange was not more convivial. He was a man with whom you would occasionally differ, but never stop respecting.
His knowledge of the Pacific was encyclopaedic, and his dedication to good Pacific outcomes unmatched.
Kua hinga te totara, Haere te kaiako nui, Haere, Haere, Haere
Professor Walsh is Adjunct Professor at USP, and Editor of The Journal of Pacific Studies

Wendy Tubman

It was my honour to be the last manager of IPS Publications, the publishing house established by Ron at the University of the South Pacific in the 1970s, and to publish both the seventh edition of his magnum opus, ‘The South Pacific’, and his last, possibly equally important, book ‘Asia in the Pacific: Replacing the West’.
Ron’s commitment to the publication and distribution of works for and about the Pacific was inspirational. Forward-looking, fearless and indefatigable, Ron combined an extraordinary memory, a vast network of contacts, an awesome intellect, and a compassionate, philosophical interest in just about everything – but above all, the Pacific and her people.
An email Ron sent me in 2007 serves as a reminder of his wit and wisdom: ‘The small gremlins are noticed on the way through. The big gremlins, unfortunately, curl up and hide behind the full stops until the day the book is published, then they leap out and swell to 40 times the size and dance and mock us all. It is the nature of gremlins, which is why I have a grudge against God for having created them.’
He leaves an immense gap that can best be filled by the many hundreds of people he coached, assisted and inspired.
As another former manager of IPS Publications, Mark Garrett, commented, “It seems hard to imagine the Pacific without him. He truly was one of a kind. Such a towering intellect, and such a wonderfully opinionated curmudgeon. And he’d forgotten more about Pacific history than anyone else is likely to ever know. ‘He was a man, take him all in all, I shall not look upon his like again...’.”

Professor Vilsoni Hereniko

Ron Crocombe’s impact throughout the whole Pacific region is his legacy to all of us.
Throughout Oceania, there are thousands and thousands of people whose lives have been transformed by Ron’s enthusiasm, commitment to, knowledge of, and passion for all that is good and positive about the Pacific.
He was a man who behaved and acted as though he had so much work to do and so limited time on this planet, which he traversed as though it were a small atoll in the Cook Islands. He even reached me, a confused undergraduate student from Rotuma studying at the University of the South Pacific in the early to mid 1970s. He gave me my first job at the Institute of Pacific Studies then, and this belief in my talents changed the course of my life forever.
And throughout the years, he took a keen interest in my development and aspirations, and continued to keep in touch. The last time I saw him was at a Pacific Studies conference in Canberra earlier this year where he and I had breakfast together on several mornings. I asked him for advice again on my new position of leadership, and I will always cherish what he told me, even though I doubt that I can live up to his very high standards.
I am certain that my relationship with Ron is not unique, but it is one small example of Ron’s impact on the lives of thousands of other former students as well as colleagues, government leaders, friends, acquaintances and family members scattered throughout Oceania.
Thousands of us, particularly Pacific Islanders, are better off today because we were fortunate to have been at the receiving end of one of the Pacific’s most generous and brilliant individuals. Thank you Papa Ron. We will always remember you.
Professor Hereniko is Director, Center for Pacific Islands Studies, School of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Hawaii.

Professor Patrick Nunn

When I joined the University of the South Pacific in 1985, Ron Crocombe was acknowledged as its top scholar, a man with an incisive and encyclopaedic understanding of our islands and the big issues that challenged its people. No one has ever replaced him, but his intellectual legacy will live forever. God bless you, my friend.
Professor Patrick Nunn

USP Cook Islands

Ron Crocombe’s life was too full to encapsulate.It covered nearly 80 years, spanned several continents, most recently Asia, included 60 books and monographs, innumerable chapters and journal articles, international recognition through visiting professorships at Universities in the USA, Russia, China, and Japan, membership of over 40 international bodies, and consultancies for the UN, ADB, Pacific Community, Pacific Island Forum and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Perhaps most significantly, it included the instruction of future Pacific leaders over 20 years as a professor at the University of the South Pacific and helped give voice to the work of over 1700 Pacific Islanders through the publications of the Institute of Pacific Studies.
Ron’s life started, in academic terms, in the early 1950s as an extension student in Rarotonga.
It grew into a wonderful partnership with Marjorie Hosking that lasted over 50 years. Ron’s passing will be marked and his life celebrated across the Pacific.
We have lost a father, friend and dear colleague.
Tevai Matapo
Chair USP Cook Islands on behalf of the university community

The Totara has fallen

Many of your readers will, I know, share the sorrow and regret at the news of the passing of Emeritus Professor Ronald Gordon Crocombe on 18th June 2009 in Auckland en-route to Rarotonga from Nuku’alofa.
As a student and protege of Ron (as he always insisted on being called), I remember him distinctly for his modeling his life on the quotation:
“If there is any kindness that I can do, let me do it now as I may not pass this way again.”
Undoubtedly, he will be remembered by his work of distinction and lifetime services dedicated to re-uniting the people of our rich and diverse oceanic region.
He will be remembered most of all by the thousands of people whose lives he touched through his teaching and writing on the Pacific and through the person he was.
Our condolences to Marjie and the family and to all the people across the globe, including ourselves, whose lives will be the poorer for Papa Ron’s passing.
The late H. E. Maude’s words of an old Maori tangi for a departed paramount chief come to mind:
He patu te ahua o te marama!
Kua hinga te Totara Nui i te Wao of Tane
Kua Whakapapa te Mauga teitei!
The horn of the crescent moon has broken off;
The sheltering Totara of the Great-forest-of-Tane has fallen;
The lofty mountain has been leveled to the ground.
(Journal of Pacific History, 1973, p. 9.)
Ua tagi u’u le fatu ma le ‘ele’ele: Our hearts and soil sobs silently. (Samoan proverb)
Morgan and Eileen Tuimaleali’ifano and
family, Suva, Fiji

His vision: Pacific Studies Campus

Professor Ron Crocombe’s vision for a Pacific Studies Campus in the Cook Islands is yet to become a reality.
But recently the University of the South Pacific has restated its intention to restore Pacific Studies to a major role in its curriculum with the appointment of a new Professor of Pacific Studies, the chair founded by the late Professor Crocombe.
It was reportedly one of Crocombe’s last passionate hopes for the Pacific to see the proposed Cook Islands Pacific Studies campus built as part of the network of USP campuses across the region teaching the subject.
In 2007 cabinet approved the proposal that government secure $5 million in funding for the new campus. Fifteen acres of land had been generously donated to the new campus at Totokoitu in Titikaveka by Papa Tangaroa and Mama Ngamata Te Amaru.
The proposed new campus building would include a large lecture theatre, library, classrooms, workshops and at the centre, a large ‘Are Marama Nui for the recording and teaching of Pacific and Cook Islands knowledge.
Government and USP consulted Crocombe on the proposed campus.
Crocombe made a compelling case for the campus to be run independently and said that government must accept that it will not have an active role in its operation. - Helen Greig

The futurist who said ‘Hurry up!”

Ron Crocombe belonged to a generation of scholars that was imbued with the zeal of returning and restoring the Pacific people to their rightful place in their home and region.
This mission meant subordinating his own research interest to a lifetime of cajoling and persuading and “coercion” of islanders to research and write their stories and record their experiences.
Ron’s academic career was shaped by the unshakable belief that little if anything in the Pacific could be taught or written without knowing the thinking of Pacific islanders and since the only way of knowing was to interview and read their minds, the only way to do that was to get them to write.
To this task, Ron devoted his life with a single-minded passion that made many islanders tremble when they heard Ron’s name or learned of his presence in the neighbourhood. Many stories fill the halls of academia across the globe of islanders pursued to the “death” by Ron for not making good their promise.
During the tenure of Carribean scholar, Dr James Maraj, as USP Vice Chancellor, a formidable partnership was forged. As Director of the Institute of Pacific Studies in 1975, Ron’s dreams were brought closer to fruition. IPS’ mission was simple and clear – the promotion of Pacific Islands writing, and in the course of 32 years from 1975 to 2008 (when it closed), IPS had published the works of 1700 Pacific Islanders, an achievement probably unmatched anywhere else in proportion to the population.
IPS was established to publish Pacific Islanders and Ron was concerned with maintaining the highest standards, and many manuscripts were returned soaked in an ocean of red ink with idiosyncratic epithets peppering their margins.
It is impossible to list all those whom Ron mentored. Some who have gone on to become leaders in their respective fields include the late Asesela Ravuvu, his successor as director of the Institute of Pacific Studies and first Pacific Island professor of Pacific Studies; Marjorie Crocombe, Brij Lal, Vijay Naidu, Claire Slatter, Vilisoni Hereniko, Uentabo Neemia Mackenzie, Sione Tupouniua, Jon Jonassen, Howard Van Trease, Mere Pulea, Roniti Teiwaki, Kauraka Kauraka, Makiuti Tongia, and Morgan Tuimaleali’ifano.
His publication record is monumental and peerless. His edited Pacific Land Tenure which has been a standard text for generations of scholars, as has the South Pacific (now in its seventh edition), the latter being originally written as a set of lectures for radio broadcast. Asia in the Pacific: Replacing the West is his most recent monumental work, some 40 years in the making. The Works of Ta’unga the product of an outstanding partnership with Marjorie Crocombe, became a classic almost as soon as it was published .
While grounded in the past, Ron was a futurist and ahead of his time. At the 2009 Cook Islands Research Association Conference, which he helped plan on a theme entitled “Cook Islands 2050”, he kept up the pressure. He said:
“2050 may sound like a long time away, but for those of you who plan to prepare papers for it (and I hope many of you will), you will need all the time.
“If you prepare a paper, you will be helping to clarify your own thoughts and those of everyone else, and helping our people and our country to light up the way forward a little better. Let us remember George Burns’ advice to look to the future because that is where you will live the rest of your life; and Ann Landers who said, “Look ahead. That is where the future lies.” She might have added, “and that of your children and grandchildren even more.” (Cook Islands Research Association Conference Programme, 2009).
Ron was always ahead of his time, encouraging us to look forward and share his vision. The question is, “Are we up to it?” Ron would say both “Yes” and “Hurry up.”