Sumsuma

Sumsuma (1903?–August 20, 1965) was one of the leaders of the Rabaul strike, the first industrial strike in Papua New Guinea.

Sumsuma was born in the village of Sasa on Boang Island sometime around 1903. He became a seaman at age 10 and by 1927 was the captain of a small trading schooner. His wage of £12 a month made him one of the higher-paid seamen, the average wage of a Papua New Guinean at the time being half that.

On January 2, 1929, Sumsuma organized a strike in Rabaul with the goal of increased wages. He was assisted by N'Dramei of Manus, the senior sergeant-major of the police. The employers refusal to negotiate combined with the general inexperience of the strikers caused the strike to quickly fizzle out by the afternoon of January 3. Sumsuma, along with N'Dramei and the other strike leaders were sentenced to 3 years in prison.

After being released in 1932, Sumsuma helped establish multiple agrarian cooperatives. During World War II, he collaborated with Japan.

Sumsuma died on August 20, 1965 of asthma. [1][2]

References

1. Gammage, Bill (1990). "Sumsuma (1903–1965)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
2. Gammage, Bill (1975). "The Rabaul Strike, 1929". The Journal of Pacific History. 10 (3): 3–29. doi:10.1080/00223347508572276.