David Hand - Independence

Independence

When Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia in September 1975, Hand was the first European to apply for citizenship. He received honours as varied as a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, the highest rank (Grand Companion) in Papua New Guinea's Order of the Logohu and the title of Chief of the Orokaiva tribe.

Hand ended his time as archbishop in 1983 at the retirement age of sixty-five and was succeeded by George Ambo. He then spent two years as the parish priest of his childhood village of Tatterford in Norfolk, where he was still remembered. However, he missed Papua New Guinea and returned, settling in Port Moresby where he wrote his memoirs (and a newspaper column) and headed the local censorship board. He never married, remaining a celibate Anglo-Catholic missionary like Trevor Huddleston, in the tradition of the Oxford Movement. When he died in Port Moresby in 2006, he was buried at the Cathedral of the Resurrection, Popondetta. His funeral was delayed, as his coffin was found to be too big for his grave.