| Formation | 1960 |
|---|---|
| Founder | John Teosin, Francis Hagai |
| Dissolved | 1980s |
| Type | movement |
| Legal status | in decline |
| Purpose | anti-tax |
| Location |
|
The Hahalis Welfare Society was a nativist movement on Buka Island in what is now the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. The movement began in 1960 and was most active in the '60s and '70s. At its peak, the Society numbered half of the population of Buka Island as members. The Society is best known for refusing to pay the Head Tax to the colonial government of the time, the Australian-administered Territory of Papua and New Guinea based in Port Moresby, and its subsequent clash with police in 1962.
While the Society was mainly focused on anti-tax activism, the Port Moresby Administration classified it as a cargo cult. Former Police Inspector John Hihina described the Society this way: "In 1962 we had trouble at Hahalis on Buka Island, where John Teosin, Francis Bagai[sic], and the old Sawa started a cargo cult. About 2,000 members joined in and the situation was rather awkward".[1]