Territory of Papua and New Guinea | |||||||||||||
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| 1949–1975 | |||||||||||||
| Anthem: God Save the Queen | |||||||||||||
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| Status | United Nations Trust Territory (New Guinea) External territory of Australia (Papua) | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Port Moresby | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | English (official) Austronesian languages Papuan languages English creoles German creoles | ||||||||||||
| Demonyms | Papua New Guineans, Papuans | ||||||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||||||
• 1949–1952 | George VI | ||||||||||||
• 1952–1975 | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||
| Administrator | |||||||||||||
• 1949–1952 (first) | Jack Keith Murray | ||||||||||||
• 1974–1975 (last) | Tom Critchley | ||||||||||||
| Chief Minister | |||||||||||||
• 1972–1975 (last) | Michael Somare | ||||||||||||
| Legislature | Legislative Council (1949–1963) House of Assembly (1963–1975) | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
| 1 July 1949 | |||||||||||||
• Self-governing | 1 December 1973 | ||||||||||||
| 16 September 1975 | |||||||||||||
| Currency |
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TheTerritory of Papua and New Guinea was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories ofPapua andNew Guinea (the latter being aUnited Nations trust territory administered by Australia) in 1949. In December 1971, the name of the Territory changed to "Papua New Guinea" and in 1975 it became theIndependent State of Papua New Guinea.[1]
In 1884,Germany formally took possession of the northeast quarter of the island and it became known asGerman New Guinea.[2] In 1884, a British protectorate was proclaimed over Papua – the southern coast of New Guinea. The protectorate, calledBritish New Guinea, was annexed outright on 4 September 1888 and possession passed to the newly federatedCommonwealth of Australia in 1902 and British New Guinea became the AustralianTerritory of Papua, with Australian administration beginning in 1906.[2]
TheAustralian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force seizedGerman New Guinea and the neighbouring islands of theBismarck Archipelago for the Allies in 1914, during the early stages of theFirst World War.[3] At the 1919Paris Peace Conference following the war, Australian Prime MinisterBilly Hughes sought to secure possession of New Guinea from the defeated German Empire: telling the Conference: "Strategically the northern islands (such as New Guinea) encompass Australia like fortresses. They are as necessary to Australia as water to a city."[4] Article 22 of theTreaty of Versailles provided for the division of Germany and theCentral Powers' imperial possessions among the victoriousAllies of World War I and German New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Nauru were assigned to Australia asLeague of Nations Mandates: territories "formerly governed [by the Central Powers] and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world".[5]
Shortly after the start of thePacific War, the island of New Guinea was invaded by the Japanese. Most ofWest Papua, at that time known asDutch New Guinea, was occupied, as were large parts of the Territory of New Guinea. TheNew Guinea campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War. In all, some 200,000 Japanese soldiers, sailors and airmen died during the campaign against approximately 7,000 Australian and 7,000 American service personnel.[6] Major battles included theBattle of Kokoda Trail,Battle of Buna-Gona andBattle of Milne Bay. The offensives in Papua and New Guinea of 1943–44 were the single largest series of connected operations ever mounted by the Australian armed forces.[7] Bitter fighting continued in New Guinea between the Allies and the Japanese18th Army based in New Guinea until theJapanese surrender in 1945.
Following theSurrender of Japan in 1945, civil administration of Papua and New Guinea was restored, and under the Papua-New Guinea Provisional Administration Act (1945–46),[8][9] Papua and New Guinea were combined in an administrative union.[2] ThePapua and New Guinea Act 1949 united, for administrative purposes only, theTerritory of Papua and theTerritory of New Guinea as the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. The Act formally approved the placing of New Guinea under theinternational trusteeship system and confirmed the administrative union of New Guinea and Papua under the title of The Territory of Papua and New Guinea. It also provided fora Legislative Council (which was established in 1951), a judicial system, a public service, and a system of local government.[2] The House of Assembly replaced the Legislative Council in 1963, and the firstHouse of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea opened on 8 June 1964.
Post war, Australian policy in the territory was guided byAustralian Labor Minister for External TerritoriesEddie Ward. Initially during the period ofWorld War II the Department had a minimal role in the affairs of the territory, due to it being administered by ANGAU. The Department was also slow to respond to demands for reform from the colonial administration in Port Moresby. This resulted in proposals for post war reform being issued by other departments in the Australian government.
In 1963, the population was approximately two million, of which about 25,000 were non-indigenous. The economy was based on cash crops includingcoffee,cocoa, andcopra as well as timber mills, wharves and factories. Difficult terrain rendered communication between districts difficult and there was a lack of national unity in the territory.[10]
One of the ways in which the territory was administered was through the use of patrol officers. Between 1949 and 1974, more than 2000 Australians served as patrol officers, known locally as "kiaps". The job of patrol officers involved: facilitating the consolidation of administrative influence, maintaining the rule of law, conducting court cases and presiding as Magistrate, carrying out police work, conducting censuses, encouraging economic development, providing escorts, purchasing land for governmental use and overseeing local elections.[11]
On 13 December 1971 the name of the territory was changed to Papua New Guinea.[1] Under Australian Minister for External TerritoriesAndrew Peacock, the territory adopted self-government in 1972. 1972 elections saw the formation of a ministry headed by Chief MinisterMichael Somare, who pledged to lead PNG to self-government and then to independence.[2] Following the passage of thePapua New Guinea Independence Act 1975, during the term of theWhitlam government in Australia, the Territory became theIndependent State of Papua New Guinea and attained independence on 16 September 1975.[12][13]
The economy of the territory was dependent on the export of raw materials and under the control of foreign, mostly Australian, investors. In the private sector dealing with agriculture, forestry and fisheries Australian enterprises produced about 1/3, or $24 million dollars' worth, of total output.[14] The primary agricultural products in the territory were cocoa, coffee, copra, tea and rubber.[15] All of these sectors were dominated by Australian expatriates and companies. Both the industrial and tourism sectors were dominated by Australians, with 98-99% of all factories and 90% of all tourism related businesses under Australian ownership. Likewise commerce was also dominated by Australians, with three large Australian companies making up 85% of all retail trade at independence. The public sector of Papua New Guinea was also reliant on Australian aid. This is evident in the fact that in the years preceding independence Australia provided 55% of public sector spending.[16] This relationship has continued to the present day as PNG is one of the largest recipients of Australian foreign aid.
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(1) Sovereignty recognised only byFrance,New Zealand,Norway, and theUnited Kingdom. (2) Co-mandate with New Zealand and the United Kingdom. | |||||||||
