Territory of Papua

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Not to be confused with Territory of Papua and New Guinea.
Territory of Papua
1883–1975
  Territory of Papua
  Queensland (annexed Papua in 1883)
  Other
Monarch
 
• 1883–1901
Queen Victoria
• 1952–1975
Elizabeth II
Lieutenant-Governor
 
• 1884–1885
Peter Scratchley
• 1908–1940
Hubert Murray
• 1945–1949
Jack Keith Murray
LegislatureLegislative council
House of Assembly
History 
• Annexation by Queensland
1883
6 November 1884
1975[1]
CurrencyAustralian pound
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Colony of Queensland
Territory of Papua and New Guinea
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History of Papua New Guinea
National emblem of Papua New Guinea
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The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire.[2] The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the annexation but in 1884 a protectorate was proclaimed over the territory, then called "British New Guinea". There is a certain ambiguity about the exact date on which the entire territory was annexed by the British. The Papua Act 1905 recites that this happened "on or about" 4 September 1888.[3] On 18 March 1902, the Territory was placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia.[4] Resolutions of acceptance were passed by the Commonwealth Parliament, which accepted the territory under the name of Papua.[3]

In 1949, the Territory and the

Independent State of Papua New Guinea
in 1975.

Papua made up the southern half of what is today Papua New Guinea and contained the territory's capital, Port Moresby, which then became the capital of the independent country.

History

The British flag being raised in 1883 after Queensland annexed the southern part of New Guinea

Background

Archeological evidence suggests that humans arrived on New Guinea at least 60,000 years ago. These

Íñigo Ortiz de Retez gave the island the name "New Guinea", because he saw a resemblance between the islands' inhabitants and those found on the African region of Guinea. European knowledge of the interior of the island remained scant for several centuries after these initial encounters.[7]

Annexation

In 1883 Sir Thomas McIlwraith, the Premier of Queensland, ordered Henry Chester (1832–1914), the police magistrate on Thursday Island, to proceed to Port Moresby and annex the eastern half of New Guinea.[8][9] The reason given for annexation was the apparent German interest in annexing the area, evidenced by an article in the Allgemeine Zeitung.[10][11] Chester made the proclamation on 4 April 1883,[12] but the imperial British government disapproved of the annexation:[13] the British Colonial Secretary Lord Derby emphasised in a despatch to the Queensland government that such an action was beyond Queensland's constitutional powers as a British colony.[14]

On 6 November 1884, after the Australian colonies had promised financial support, the territory became a British

Commonwealth of Australia.[why?] With the passage of the Papua Act 1905, the area was officially renamed the Territory of Papua, and Australian administration formally began in 1906.[15]

Meanwhile, the northern part of New Guinea was under German commercial control from 1884, and from 1899 was directly ruled by the German government as the

First World War in 1914, Australia invaded Kaiser-Wilhelmsland on 11 September 1914 with 2000 volunteers of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force. After several skirmishes, the Australians succeeded in capturing the German colony, which they occupied for the rest of the war. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 transferred German New Guinea to Australia, which administered it as the Territory of New Guinea
.

World War II

Australian troops at Milne Bay, Papua. The Australian army was the first to inflict defeat on the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II at the Battle of Milne Bay of August–September 1942.

Shortly after the start of the

Owen Stanley Ranges to the north. Civil administration was suspended during the war and both territories (Papua and New Guinea) were placed under martial law for the duration.[citation needed
]

The

Mediterranean Theatre
.

In early September 1942 Japanese marines attacked a strategic Royal Australian Air Force base at

Japanese surrender
in 1945.

Administrative unification with New Guinea

After the war, the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 united the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea as the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. However, for the purposes of Australian nationality a distinction was maintained between the two territories.[20] The act provided for a Legislative Council (which was established in 1951), a judicial system, a public service, and a system of local government.[7]

Under

Australian Minister for External Territories Andrew Peacock, the territory adopted self-government in 1972 and on 15 September 1975, during the term of the Whitlam government in Australia, the Territory became the independent nation of Papua New Guinea.[21][22]

See also

References

  1. ^ As to the Territory of Papua having continued to have a legal existence as a distinct territory, separate and distinct from the Territory of New Guinea, note the following Recital to the Papua New Guinea Independence Act, 1975 "WHEREAS the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 provided for the administration of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea by Australia in an administrative union, by the name of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, whilst maintaining the identity and status of the Territory of New Guinea as a Trust Territory and the identity and status of the Territory of Papua as a Possession of the Crown".
  2. ^ Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 897
  3. ^ a b Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 132
  4. ^ Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 132 where it is noted that "On March 18, 1902 Letters Patent [S.R.O & S.I. Rev. II, 1096] made for the purposes of section 122 of the Australian Constitution, placed the territory under the Commonwealth of Australia"
  5. ^ Papua and New Guinea Act, 1949 of the Commonwealth of Australia
  6. ^ Papua New Guinea Act, 1971 of the Commonwealth of Australia
  7. ^ a b "Papua New Guinea". State.gov. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  8. ^ "The Annexation of New Guinea". The Brisbane Courier. 5 July 1883. p. 3. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  9. ^ Overlack, Peter (1979). "Queensland's Annexation of New Guinea: A Background to Anglo–German Friction". Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland. 10 (4): 131.
  10. ^ "The Annexation of New Guinea". Queenslander. 14 July 1883.
  11. ^ Overlack, Peter (1979). "Queensland's Annexation of Papua: a Background to Anglo–German Friction". Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland. 10 (4): 127–31.
  12. ISBN 0 7016 8176 4
    .
  13. ^ "The ties that bind: The Australia-PNG relationship". 16 August 2017.
  14. ISBN 0 7016 8176 4
    .
  15. ^ "National Museum of Australia - Papua New Guinea".
  16. ^ "Remembering the war in New Guinea - Rabaul". Ajrp.awm.gov.au. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Kokoda Trail Campaign | The Australian War Memorial". Awm.gov.au. 21 July 1942. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  18. ^ "Battle of Milne Bay | The Australian War Memorial". Awm.gov.au. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  19. ^ a b "Wartime Issue 23 - New Guinea Offensive | Australian War Memorial". Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  20. ^ "Passport Manual - Publications - Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  21. ^ "Peacock made 'bird of paradise' chief". Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  22. ^ "In office - Gough Whitlam - Australia's PMs - Australia's Prime Ministers". Primeministers.naa.gov.au. Retrieved 2 October 2017.

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