The collection comprises a small amount of personal papers including a diary, correspondence, notes and drafts of articles and papers concerning his books Samoa mo Samoa and Peter Dillon of Vanikoro. The bulk of the collection comprises subject files containing publications, cuttings, photographs, correspondence, notes, and in some cases, original manuscripts relating to the South Pacific Commission, American Samoa, Fiji, Micronesia (USA) Nauru, New Zealand's island territories, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Western Samoa (1890-1973).