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Territory of Papua

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Colony in Oceania from 1883 to 1975

Not to be confused withTerritory of Papua and New Guinea.

British New Guinea
(1884–1906)

Territory of Papua
(1906–1975)

1883–1975

Flag
(1906–1971)

Badge
(1906–1971)

Territory of Papua

Queensland (annexed Papua in 1883)

OtherBritish possessions

Status

Queensland dependency(1883–1884)
British protectorate(1884–1888)
Britishcrown colony(1888–1902)
Australian external territory(1902–1975)

Capital

Port Moresby

Common languages

English (official),Tok Pisin,Hiri Motu (nativelingua franca), manyAustronesian languages,Papuan languages

• 1883–1901

• 1952–1975

• 1884–1885

• 1908–1940

• 1945–1949

Legislature

Legislative council
House of Assembly

History

• Annexation byQueensland

1883

• Colonization

6 November 1884

• Union with New Guinea

1975^[1]

Currency

Australian pound

Preceded by

Succeeded by

Colony of Queensland

1949: Territory of Papua and New Guinea
1975: Papua New Guinea

Part ofa series on the
History ofPapua New Guinea

Prehistory Early history British New Guinea German New Guinea Australian mandate World War II Japanese occupation Territorial merger Papua New Guinea
New Guinea portal
v t e

TheTerritory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island ofNew Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government ofQueensland annexed this territory for theBritish Empire.^[2] The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the annexation but in 1884 aprotectorate was proclaimed over the territory, then calledBritish New Guinea. There is a certain ambiguity about the exact date on which the entire territory was annexed by the British. ThePapua 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 ofAustralia.^[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 theTerritory of New Guinea were established in an administrative union by the name of theTerritory of Papua and New Guinea.^[5] That administrative union was renamed asPapua New Guinea in 1971.^[6] Notwithstanding that it was part of an administrative union, the Territory of Papua at all times retained a distinct legal status and identity; it was a Possession ofthe Crown, whereas the Territory of New Guinea was initially aLeague of Nations mandate territory and subsequently aUnited Nations trust territory. This legal and political distinction remained until the advent of theIndependent 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

[edit]

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

Background

[edit]

Archeological evidence suggests that humans arrived onNew Guinea at least 60,000 years ago. TheseMelanesian people developed stone tools and agriculture. Portuguese and Spanish navigators sailing in theSouth Pacific entered New Guinea waters in the early part of the 16th century and in 1526–27, DonJorge de Meneses came upon the principal island, which the locals called "Papua". In 1545, the SpaniardÍñigo Ortiz de Retez gave the island the name "New Guinea", because he saw a resemblance between the islands' inhabitants and those found on theAfrican region ofGuinea. European knowledge of the interior of the island remained scant for several centuries after these initial encounters.^[7]

Annexation

[edit]

In November 1882,Allgemeine Zeitung published an article calling for the German annexation of New Guinea. Concerned with such a prospect, SirThomas McIlwraith, thePremier ofQueensland, cabled to London in February 1883, urging the government to annex New Guinea to Queensland, but received no answer. On 20 March, hearing the story thatSMSCarola was about to leave Sydney forthe South Seas "with object of annexation", he telegraphedHenry Chester, the police magistrate atThursday Island, to sail for New Guinea and "take formal possession in Her Majesty’s name of whole of the Island with exception ofthat portion in occupation of the Dutch". Chester made the proclamation atPort Moresby on 4 April,^[8]^[9] but the imperial British government disapproved of the annexation:^[10] the BritishColonial 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.^[11]^[12]^[13]

On 6 November 1884, after the Australian colonies had promised financial support, the territory became a Britishprotectorate. On 4 September 1888 the protectorate was annexed by Britain, together with some adjacent islands, which were collectively named British New Guinea. In 1902, the British parts of Papua were effectively transferred to the authority of the newCommonwealth 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.^[14]

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 thecolony ofGerman New Guinea, then known asKaiser-Wilhelmsland. At the outbreak of theFirst World War in 1914, Australia invaded Kaiser-Wilhelmsland on 11 September 1914 with 2000 volunteers of theAustralian 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. TheTreaty of Versailles in 1919 transferred German New Guinea to Australia, which administered it as theTerritory of New Guinea.

World War II

[edit]

Shortly after the start of thePacific War, the island of New Guinea was invaded by theJapanese. Papua was the least affected region. Most ofWest Papua, at that time known asDutch New Guinea, was occupied, as were large parts of theTerritory of New Guinea (the formerGerman New Guinea, which was also under Australian rule afterWorld War I), but Papua was protected to a large extent by its southern location and the near-impassableOwen Stanley Ranges to the north. Civil administration was suspended during the war and both territories (Papua and New Guinea) were placed undermartial law for the duration.^{[citation needed]}

TheNew Guinea campaign opened with the battles forNew Britain andNew Ireland in theTerritory of New Guinea in 1942.Rabaul, the capital of the Territory, wasoverwhelmed on 22–23 January and was established as a major Japanese base from where the Japanese landed on mainland New Guinea and advanced towards Port Moresby and Australia.^[15] Having had their initial effort to capture Port Moresby by a seaborne invasion disrupted by theU.S. Navy and Australian navy in theBattle of the Coral Sea, the Japanese attempted a landward attack from the north via theKokoda Track. From July 1942, a few Australian reserve battalions, many of them very young and untrained, fought a stubbornrearguard action against the Japanese attack, over the ruggedOwen Stanley Ranges.^[16] The militia, worn out and severely depleted by casualties, held out with the assistance of Papuan porters and medical assistants, and were relieved in late August by regular troops from the Second Australian Imperial Force, returning from action in theMediterranean Theatre.

In early September 1942 Japanese marines attacked a strategic Royal Australian Air Force base atMilne Bay, near the eastern tip of Papua. They were beaten back by the Australian Army, and theBattle of Milne Bay was the first outright defeat of Japanese land forces in the Pacific theater during World War II.^[17] 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.^[18] The Supreme Commander of operations was the United States GeneralDouglas Macarthur, with Australian GeneralThomas Blamey taking a direct role in planning, and operations being essentially directed by staff at New Guinea Force headquarters in Port Moresby.^[18] Bitter fighting continued in New Guinea between the largely Australian force and the Japanese18th Army based in New Guinea until theJapanese surrender in 1945.

Administrative unification with New Guinea

[edit]

After the war, thePapua and New Guinea Act 1949 united the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea as theTerritory of Papua and New Guinea. However, for the purposes ofAustralian nationality a distinction was maintained between the two territories.^[19] The act provided for aLegislative Council (which was established in 1951), a judicial system, a public service, and a system of local government.^[7]

UnderAustralian Minister for External Territories Andrew Peacock, the territory adopted self-government in 1972 and on 15 September 1975, during the term of theWhitlam government in Australia, the Territory became the independent nation ofPapua New Guinea.^[20]^[21]

References

[edit]

^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".
^Commonwealth and Colonial Law byKenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 897
^^a ^bCommonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 132
^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"
^Papua and New Guinea Act, 1949 of the Commonwealth of Australia
^Papua New Guinea Act, 1971 of the Commonwealth of Australia
^^a ^b"Papua New Guinea". State.gov. 7 February 2017. Retrieved2 October 2017.
^"The Annexation of New Guinea".The Brisbane Courier. 5 July 1883. p. 3. Retrieved12 March 2024.
^Whittaker, J. L.; Gash, N. G.; Hookey, J. F.; Lacey, R. J., eds. (1975).Documents and Readings in New Guinea History: Prehistory to 1889. Milton, Queensland: Jacaranda Press. p. 445.ISBN 0 7016 8176 4.
^"The ties that bind: The Australia-PNG relationship". 16 August 2017.
^Whittaker, J. L.; Gash, N. G.; Hookey, J. L.; Lacey, R. J., eds. (1975).Documents and Readings in New Guinea History: Prehistory to 1889. Milton, Queensland: Jacaranda Press. pp. 447–9.ISBN 0 7016 8176 4.
^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.
^Boore, Roger (1 January 2005).“Savagery” and “Civilisation”: The convergence of Europeans and Papuans up to the proclamation of the British New Guinea Protectorate in 1884 (PhD thesis). University of Wales Swansea.
^"National Museum of Australia - Papua New Guinea".
^"Remembering the war in New Guinea - Rabaul". Ajrp.awm.gov.au. Retrieved2 October 2017.
^"Kokoda Trail Campaign | The Australian War Memorial". Awm.gov.au. 21 July 1942. Retrieved2 October 2017.
^"Battle of Milne Bay | The Australian War Memorial". Awm.gov.au. Retrieved2 October 2017.
^^a ^b"Wartime Issue 23 - New Guinea Offensive | Australian War Memorial". Archived fromthe original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved14 July 2011.
^"Passport Manual - Publications - Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Archived fromthe original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved1 May 2013.
^"Peacock made 'bird of paradise' chief". Archived fromthe original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved14 July 2011.
^"In office - Gough Whitlam - Australia's PMs - Australia's Prime Ministers". Primeministers.naa.gov.au. Retrieved2 October 2017.

Dispela Kantri Bilong Mi, Nau! Queensland Annexes New Guinea, by Paul Dillon, ISBN: 9780994638168, 2023; and
Queensland's contribution to the development of British New Guinea, by Paul Dillon, ISBN: 9781922815880, Connor Court Publishing, Brisbane 2023.
Thomas Penberthy Fry (ed.)."Papua New Guinea - The Laws of the Territory of Papua 1888-1945 (Annotated) - Alphabetical Index of Subject Headings". Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute.

States and territories of Australia

States

Territories

Internal
territories

Australian Capital Territory
Jervis Bay Territory
Northern Territory
Defunct:Central Australia (1927–31)
North Australia (1927–31)

External
territories

Ashmore and Cartier Islands Australian Antarctic Territory¹ Coral Sea Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Norfolk Island Defunct:Nauru (1920–68)² New Guinea (1920–49) Papua (1902–49) Papua and New Guinea (1949–75)
Indian Ocean Territories	Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands

(1) Sovereignty recognised only byFrance,New Zealand,Norway, and theUnited Kingdom.
(2) Co-mandate with New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

FormerBritish Empire and currentBritish Overseas Territories

Legend: Former territory; Current territory; *CurrentCommonwealth realm; ^†Current member of theCommonwealth of Nations

Europe
Corsica 1794–1796 Gibraltar since 1713 Heligoland 1807–1890 Ionian Islands 1809–1864 Lordship of Ireland 1177–1542 Kingdom of Ireland 1542–1800(integrated into the UK) Free State 1921–1931 ^†Malta Protectorate 1800–1813 Colony 1813–1964 Minorca 1708–1757, 1763–1782 and 1798–1802

Africa

Basutoland (^†Lesotho) 1868–1966
Bechuanaland (^†Botswana) 1884–1966
Cameroons¹³ 1919–1961
Cape Colony 1795–1803
Cape of Good Hope 1806–1910
Central Africa 1891–1907
East Africa 1895–1920
Egypt 1882–1922
^†The Gambia 1816–1965
Gold Coast (^†Ghana) 1874–1957
^†Kenya 1920–1963
Lagos 1862–1906
Madeira 1807–1808
^†Mauritius 1810–1968
Natal 1856–1910
Niger Coast 1884–1900
^†Nigeria 1914–1960
Northern Nigeria 1900–1914
Northern Rhodesia¹⁵ 1924–1964
Nyasaland 1891–1964
Orange River 1900–1910
^†Seychelles 1903–1976
^†Sierra Leone 1792–1961
Somaliland 1884–1960
^†South Africa 1910–1931
South-West Africa¹² 1915–1931
Southern Rhodesia¹⁴ 1923–1965 and 1979–1980
Southern Nigeria 1900–1914
^†Swaziland 1893–1968
Sudan 1899–1956
Tanganyika¹³ 1922–1961
Transvaal 1900–1910
^†Uganda 1890–1962
Zanzibar 1890–1963
Zululand 1887–1897

¹²Now^†Namibia
¹³League of Nations mandate. British Cameroons is now part of^†Cameroon andNigeria, while Tanganyika is part of^†Tanzania.
¹⁴Self-governing Southern Rhodesiaunilaterally declared independence in 1965 (asRhodesia) and continued as anunrecognised state until the 1979Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.
¹⁵Now^†Zambia

Asia

Aden Colony 1839–1967
Afghanistan 1839–1842
- Protectorate 1879–1919
Akrotiri and Dhekelia since 1960 (before as part ofCyprus)
Bencoolen 1685–1824
Banka andBilliton 1812–1824
Bengal 1757–1947
Bhutan (protectorate) 1907–1949
Borneo 1874–1963
British Indian Ocean Territory since 1965 (before as part ofMauritius andSeychelles)²⁶
Burma 1824–1948
^†Brunei 1888–1984
^†Ceylon 1795–1948
^†Cyprus 1878–1960
Hong Kong 1841–1997
^†India¹⁸ 1858–1947
Java 1811–1816
Kuwait 1918–1961
Labuan 1848–1946
Malaya 1819–1826
- Federated States 1895–1946
- Unfederated States 1885–1946
- Union 1946–1948
- Federation 1948–1957
Malacca 1824–1946
- Crown Colony 1946–1957
^†Maldives 1796–1965
Manila and Cavite 1762–1764
Mesopotamia¹⁹ 1920–1932
Muscat and Oman 1891–1971
North Borneo 1882–1963
- Crown Colony 1946–1963
Padang 1781–1784 and 1795–1819
Palestine¹⁹ 1923–1948
Penang 1786–1946
- Crown Colony 1946–1957
Pulo Condore 1702–1705
Sarawak 1841–1946
- Crown Colony 1946–1963
^†Singapore 1946–1963
South Vietnam 1945–1946
Straits Settlements 1826–1946
Transjordan 1921–1946
Trucial States 1892–1971
Weihai 1898–1930

¹⁸Now^†India,^†Pakistan and^†Bangladesh
¹⁹League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by theAnglo-Iraqi Treaty
²⁶Legitimacy of territorial establishmentdisputed

North America

Anguilla since 1650
*Antigua 1632–1860
*Antigua and Barbuda 1860–1981
^†*Bahamas 1670–1973
^†Barbados 1624–1966
Bay Islands 1643–1860
^†*Belize 1871–1981
Bermuda since 1619
British Arctic Territories 16th c.–1880
British Columbia 1858–1866
- 1866–1871
Cape Breton Island 1754–1820
^†Dominica 1763–1978
East Florida 1763–1783
^†*Grenada 1762–1974
^†*Canada
- Lower 1791–1841
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- Province 1841–1867
- Dominion 1867–1931
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Columbia District/Oregon Country 1818–1846
Connecticut 1636–1776
Delaware 1701–1776
East Jersey 1674–1702
Georgia 1733–1776
^†*Jamaica 1655–1962
Leeward Islands 1671–1816, 1833–1960
Massachusetts Bay 1629–1691
- Province, 1691–1776
Maryland 1632–1776
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Newfoundland and Labrador 1583–1907
North Carolina 1712–1776
North-Western Territory 1859–1870
Nova Scotia 1713–1867
Paulet affair 1843
Prince Edward Island 1763–1873
Pennsylvania 1681–1776
Plymouth 1620–1691
Quebec 1763–1791*Queen Charlotte Islands 1853–1863
Rhode Island 1636–1776
Rupert's Land 1670–1870
Saint Croix 1625–1650
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^†*Saint Kitts and Nevis 1882–1983
^†*Saint Lucia 1605–1979
^†*Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1627–1979
Saybrook 1635–1644
South Carolina 1712–1776
Stickeen 1862–1863
^†Trinidad and Tobago 1889–1962
Turks and Caicos Islands since 1799
Vancouver Island 1849–1866
Virgin Islands since 1666
Virginia 1607–1776
West Florida 1763–1783
West Indies Federation 1958–1962
- Associated States 1967–1983
West Jersey 1674–1702
Windward Islands 1833–1960

South America
Providence Island 1631–1641 Willoughbyland 1651–1667 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ 1670–1688 ^†Guiana 1831–1966
⁴Now adepartment ofColombia

Oceania

New South Wales 1788–1901
Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1803–1901
Auckland Islands²⁰ 1807–1863
New Hebrides²¹ 1824–1980
Queensland 1824–1901
Swan River/Western Australia 1829–1901
South Australia 1836–1901
Pitcairn Islands since 1838
New Zealand 1841–1907
North Australia 1846–1847
Victoria 1851–1901
^†Fiji 1874–1970
Western Pacific Territories 1877–1976
Papua 1884–1902
Rarotonga/Cook Islands²⁰ 1888–1901
Union Islands²⁰ 1889–1948
Gilbert and Ellice Islands²² 1892–1979
^†*Solomon Islands 1893–1978
^†Tonga 1900–1970
Niue²⁰ 1900–1974
^†*Australia 1901–1942
^†*New Zealand 1907–1947
^†Samoa 1914–1962
^†Nauru 1919–1942 and 1945–1968

²⁰Now part of the^†Realm of New Zealand
²¹Now^†Vanuatu
²²Now^†Kiribati and^†*Tuvalu

Antarctica and the South Atlantic

Saint Helena²³ since 1658
Ascension Island²³ since 1815
Tristan da Cunha²³ since 1816
Falkland Islands⁵ since 1833
^†Australian Antarctic Territory(transferred to theCommonwealth of Australia) 1841–1933
^†Ross Dependency(transferred to theRealm of New Zealand) 1841–1947
British Antarctic Territory²⁴ since 1908
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands²⁵ since 1908

⁵Occupied by Argentina during theFalklands War of April–June 1982.
²³Since 2009 part ofSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena.
²⁴Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under theAntarctic Treaty.
²⁵Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1985