Despite the notorious dawn raids of the 1960s and 1970s which attempted to rid the city of Pacific Islanders who had 'overstayed their welcome' Auckland now boasts of the world's largest Polynesian population. Sydney is also a city with significant and growing Islander communities. The second Pacific Wave to be held in Sydney was essentially an Australian, Aotearoa/New Zealand project which acknowledged the contributions of Polynesian, Melanesian and Aboriginal people to contemporary antipodean culture. Artistic Directors Julianne Pierce and Con Gouriotis and Festival Coordinator Maud Page with the help of many friends and modest funding organised a comprehensive celebration of traditional and contemporary art forms from the regions of the south western Pacific. Presented by the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Performance Space and Bondi Pavilion Community Cultural Centre, Pacific Wave included visual arts exhibitions, performance, forums, concerts, readings and a feast. Its lack of distinction between community based activities and the 'high' arts made for a festival in which people involved in a broad spectrum of artistic activity could participate, exchange and learn a great deal.
In preparation for this review I watched South Pacific the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of 1958 directed by Joshua Logan. I figured that South Pacific would encapsulate all of the common myths and misconceptions which have shaped our view of life in the Pacific. Of course I was right; there on the archetypal island of Bali Ha'i were the happy, carefree natives occupying a tropical paradise with nothing to do except frolic in the crystal clear lagoon, greet American visitors, sing, dance, eat and make love. There were also traces of Margaret Mead (Coming of Age in Samoa), James A. Michener