Territory of Papua

• 1. Queensland's Rushed Annexation

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  In November 1882, the Allgemeine Zeitung published an article calling for German annexation of New Guinea. Sir Thomas McIlwraith, the Premier of Queensland, cabled London in February 1883 to urge government action. He received no answer from the British authorities. On the 20th of March, McIlwraith heard rumors that SMS Carola was leaving Sydney to annex the region. He telegraphed Henry Chester, police magistrate at Thursday Island, to sail immediately. Chester made the proclamation at Port Moresby on the 4th of April. The imperial British government disapproved of this unilateral move. Lord Derby, the Colonial Secretary, emphasized in a despatch that such actions exceeded Queensland's constitutional powers as a colony.

• 2. The Four-Year Interregnum Gap

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  King Edward VII issued letters patent on the 18th of March 1902 placing British New Guinea under Australian authority. The territory did not formally constitute until the 1st of September 1906 when the Papua Act 1905 took effect. This four-year gap created an interregnum period where existing institutions largely continued operating. The Barton government began preparing legislation in February 1903 and presented a draft bill in July 1903. They intended provisions to take effect on the 1st of January 1904. The initial draft was abandoned shortly before the 1903 federal election. A major sticking point involved temperance advocates attempting universal prohibition of alcohol. The Deakin government compromised by introducing local options for liquor licenses while prohibiting sales to natives. Parliament passed the Papua Act 1905 in November 1905.

• 3. Punitive Expeditions and Administrator Suicide

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  In June 1903, the Australian government appointed Christopher Stansfield Robinson as acting administrator. Robinson led a punitive expedition to Goaribari Island in March 1904. He sought to recover bodies of missionaries James Chalmers and Oliver Fellows Tomkins who had been murdered in 1901. Several Papuans were shot dead during the expedition. Local missionary Charles Abel wrote to the press alleging a massacre occurred. The Australian government called a royal commission in response to these allegations. The inquiry led directly to Robinson's suicide. A further royal commission followed in 1906 regarding administrative misconduct. That report recommended immediate removal of most senior officials including the administrator who requested the enquiry. Hubert Murray was subsequently appointed lieutenant-g governor until 1940.

• 4. Australian Invasion of German Territory

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  The northern part of New Guinea remained under German commercial control from 1884. From 1899 it became directly ruled as Kaiser-Wilhelmsland by the German government. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Australia invaded on the 11th of September 1914. Two thousand volunteers formed the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force for this operation. After several skirmishes, Australians captured the entire German colony. They occupied the territory for the remainder of the war. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 transferred German New Guinea to Australia. Australia administered this area as the Territory of New Guinea following the transfer.

• 5. First Defeat of Japanese Land Forces

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  In early September 1942 Japanese marines attacked a strategic Royal Australian Air Force base at Milne Bay. This location sat near the eastern tip of Papua. They were beaten back by the Australian Army during August and September fighting. The Battle of Milne Bay marked the first outright defeat of Japanese land forces in the Pacific theater. Most West Papua known then as Dutch New Guinea was occupied by enemy forces. Large parts of the Territory of New Guinea also fell under occupation. Papua remained protected largely due to its southern location. The near-impassable Owen Stanley Ranges provided natural defense to the north. Civil administration suspended during the war while both territories faced martial law.

• 6. Legal Distinctions Before Independence

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  After World War II ended, the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 united two territories administratively. However, Australian nationality laws maintained distinctions between them throughout the process. A Legislative Council established itself in 1951 to manage governance matters. The act created judicial systems, public services, and local government structures. Despite administrative union, Papua retained distinct legal status as a Possession of the Crown. The northern territory remained initially a League of Nations mandate before becoming a United Nations trust territory. Andrew Peacock served as Minister for External Territories when self-government began in 1972. On the 15th of September 1975 the Whitlam government oversaw independence for Papua New Guinea.