Cruise of the Magi, The

1963, 19 Minutes

The Magi people of Southeast Papua have always been seagoing traders, once in canoes, now in their own motor vessel called The Magi, which is run by a cooperative. The film is told from the point of view of cooperative officer Graham Corfield, who advises the Magi and is helping them transform from a barter society into a modern commercial economy.

As we leisurely cruise along the coast we visit the villagers who continue to live a customary way of life, gardening and weaving grass skirts, mats, fishing nets and the traditional 'crab claw' sails from natural fibres.

A Department of the Interior Production. © 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.