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{{short description|British and Australian colony in Oceania from 1883 to 1975}}
{{Infobox Former Country
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
|native_name = Papua
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2018}}
|conventional_long_name = Territory of Papua
{{Dist|Territory of Papua and New Guinea}}
|common_name = Papua
{{Infobox country
|continent = Oceania
| conventional_long_name = British New Guinea<br/>{{small|{{nobold|(1884–1906)}}}}<hr/>Territory of Papua<br/>{{small|{{nobold|(1906–1975)}}}}
|region = New Guinea
| common_name = Papua
|status= Colony
| status = {{nowrap|[[Colony of Queensland|Queensland]] dependency <small>(1883–1884)</small>}}<br/>{{nowrap|[[United Kingdom|British]] protectorate <small>(1884–1888)</small>}}<br/>{{nowrap|British [[Crown colony|crown colony]] <small>(1888–1902)</small>}}<br/>{{nowrap|[[Australia]]n external territory <small>(1902–1975)</small>}}
|empire= United Kingdom
| empire = Australia
|status_text=Colony
| status_text =
|year_start = 1884
| year_start = 1884
|year_end = 1949
| year_end = 1975<ref>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".</ref>
|date_start = November 6
| date_start = 6 November
|date_end =
| date_end =
| event_start = [[History of Papua New Guinea#Territory of Papua|Colonization]]
| event_end = [[Territory of Papua and New Guinea|Union with New Guinea]]|
| event_pre = Annexation by [[Queensland]]
|s1 = Territory of Papua and New Guinea
| date_pre = 1883
|flag_s1 = Flag of Australia.svg
| p1 = Colony of Queensland
|image_map = LocationTerritoryPapua.png
| flag_p1 = Flag of Queensland (1876–1901).svg
|image_map_caption =
| s1 = Territory of Papua and New Guinea{{!}}'''1949:'''<br/>Territory of Papua and New Guinea
|capital = Canberra
| flag_s1 = Flag of Australia (converted).svg
|common_languages = [[English language|English]] (official), [[Austronesian languages]], [[Papuan languages]], [[Tok Pisin language|English creoles]]
| s2 = Papua New Guinea{{!}}'''1975:'''<br/>Papua New Guinea
|title_leader = [[King of the United Kingdom|King]]
|leader1 flag_s2 = [[ListFlag of BritishPapua New monarchs]]Guinea.svg
| image_flag = Flag of the Territory of Papua.svg
|title_deputy = [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]]
|deputy1 flag = [[List of Prime Ministers = Flag of Australia]]Papua New Guinea
| flag_type = Flag<br/>(1906–1971)
|title_representative = [[Lieutenant-Governor of Papua|Lieutenant-Governor]]
| image_coat = Emblem of the Territory of Papua.svg
|representative1 = [[List of colonial heads of Papua|List of Lieutenant-Governors of Papua]]
| symbol_type = [[Emblem of Papua New Guinea|Badge<br/>(1906–1971)]]
|era =
| image_map = Territory of Papua.png
|currency = [[Australian pound|Australian Pound]]
| image_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#006600|Territory of Papua}} <!-- #006600 - Green: Territory of Papua -->
{{leftlegend|#C9FF6C|[[Queensland]] (annexed Papua in 1883)}} <!-- #C9FF6C - Light green: Queensland (annexed Papua in 1883) -->
{{leftlegend|#666666|Other [[British possessions]]}} <!-- #666666 - Dark grey: Other British possessions -->
| capital = [[Port Moresby]]
| common_languages = [[English language|English]] (official), [[Tok Pisin]], [[Hiri Motu]] (native [[lingua franca]]), many [[Austronesian languages]], [[Papuan languages]]
| title_leader = [[Monarch of the United Kingdom|Monarch]]
| leader1 = [[Queen Victoria]]
| title_deputy =
| deputy1 =
| title_representative = [[Lieutenant-Governor of Papua|Lieutenant-Governor]]
| representative1 = [[Peter Scratchley]]
| legislature = [[Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea|Legislative council]]<br/>[[House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea|House of Assembly]]
| era =
| currency = [[Australian pound]]
| today =
| deputy2 =
| year_deputy1 =
| year_leader2 = 1952–1975
| leader2 = [[Elizabeth II]]
| year_leader1 = 1883–1901
| area_rank =
| HDI_year =
| HDI =
| GDP_PPP_year =
| GDP_PPP =
| area_km2 =
| demonym =
| year_deputy2 =
| life_span = 1883–1975
| year_representative2 = 1908–1940
| year_representative1 = 1884–1885
| year_representative3 = 1945–1949
| linking_name =
| representative2 = [[Hubert Murray]]
| representative3 = [[Jack Keith Murray]]
}}
{{History of Papua New Guinea}}
 
The '''Territory of Papua''' comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of [[New Guinea]] from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of [[Colony of Queensland|Queensland]] annexed this territory for the British Empire.<ref>''Commonwealth and Colonial Law'' by [[Kenneth Roberts-Wray]], London, Stevens, 1966. P. 897</ref> 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.<ref name="autogenerated1966">''Commonwealth and Colonial Law'' by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 132</ref> On 18 March 1902, the Territory was placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia.<ref>''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"</ref> Resolutions of acceptance were passed by the Commonwealth Parliament, which accepted the territory under the name of Papua.<ref name="autogenerated1966"/>
The '''Territory of Papua''' was a ''de facto'' [[Australia]]n possession comprising the southeastern quarter of the island of [[New Guinea]], existing from roughly [[1902]] to [[1949]]. It had previously been administered from London as British New Guinea and remained a de jure British possession {{Fact|date=August 2007}} until 1975 when Papua New Guinea was granted independence by Australia. The territory now forms the southern part of [[Papua New Guinea]], and makes up roughly half of that country.
 
In 1949, the Territory and the [[Territory of New Guinea]] were established in an administrative union by the name of the [[Territory of Papua and New Guinea]].<ref>Papua and New Guinea Act, 1949 of the Commonwealth of Australia</ref> That administrative union was renamed as [[Papua New Guinea]] in 1971.<ref>Papua New Guinea Act, 1971 of the Commonwealth of Australia</ref> 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 of the Crown whereas the Territory of New Guinea was initially a [[League of Nations mandate]] territory and subsequently a [[United Nations trust territory]]. This legal and political distinction remained until the advent of 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==
[[Image:British flag raised on new guinea annexed by queensland.jpg|thumb|left|The British flag being raised in 1883 whenafter Queensland annexed the southern part of New Guinea]]
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 formally annex New Guinea and adjacent islands in the name of the British government. Chester made the proclamation on [[4 April]], [[1883]], but the British government repudiated the action.
 
===Background===
On [[6 November]] [[1884]], after the Australian colonies had promised financial support, the territory became a British [[protectorate]].
Archeological evidence suggests that humans arrived on New Guinea at least 60,000 years ago. These [[Melanesians|Melanesian]] people developed stone tools and agriculture. Portuguese and Spanish navigators sailing in the [[South Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]] entered New Guinea waters in the early part of the 16th century and in 1526–27, Don [[Jorge de Meneses]] came upon the principal island, which the locals called "Papua". In 1545, the Spaniard [[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 [[Africa]]n region of [[Guinea (region)|Guinea]]. European knowledge of the interior of the island remained scant for several centuries after these initial encounters.<ref name="state1">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2797.htm |title=Papua New Guinea |publisher=State.gov |date=2017-02-07 |access-date=2017-10-02}}</ref>
 
===Annexation===
On [[4 September]], [[1888]] it was annexed, together with some adjacent islands, by [[United Kingdom|Britain]] as British New Guinea.
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
In 1883 Sir [[Thomas McIlwraith]], the [[Premier of Queensland|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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 July 1883 |title=The Annexation of New Guinea |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3419791 |access-date=12 March 2024 |work=The Brisbane Courier |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Overlack |first=Peter |date=1979 |title=Queensland's Annexation of New Guinea: A Background to Anglo–German Friction |url=https://www.textqueensland.com.au/item/article/a105b55fb6b420ad4b656ef8a9d8b39b |journal=Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=131}}</ref> The reason given for annexation was the apparent German interest in annexing the area, evidenced by an article in the ''[[Allgemeine Zeitung]]''.<ref>{{cite web |date=14 July 1883 |title=The Annexation of New Guinea |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/19792298 |newspaper=Queenslander}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Overlack |first=Peter |date=1979 |title=Queensland's Annexation of Papua: a Background to Anglo–German Friction |url=https://www.textqueensland.com.au/item/article/a105b55fb6b420ad4b656ef8a9d8b39b |journal=Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=127–31}}</ref> Chester made the proclamation on 4 April 1883,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Documents and Readings in New Guinea History: Prehistory to 1889 |publisher=Jacaranda Press |year=1975 |isbn=0 7016 8176 4 |editor-last=Whittaker |editor-first=J. L. |location=Milton, Queensland |pages=445 |language=en |editor-last2=Gash |editor-first2=N. G. |editor-last3=Hookey |editor-first3=J. F. |editor-last4=Lacey |editor-first4=R. J.}}</ref> but the imperial British government disapproved of the annexation:<ref>{{cite web |date=16 August 2017 |title=The ties that bind: The Australia-PNG relationship |url=https://devpolicy.org/ties-bind-australia-png-relationship-20170817/}}</ref> the British [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Colonial Secretary]] [[Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby|Lord Derby]] emphasised in a despatch to the Queensland government that such an action was beyond Queensland's constitutional powers as a British colony.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Documents and Readings in New Guinea History: Prehistory to 1889 |publisher=Jacaranda Press |year=1975 |isbn=0 7016 8176 4 |editor-last=Whittaker |editor-first=J. L. |location=Milton, Queensland |pages=447–9 |language=en |editor-last2=Gash |editor-first2=N. G. |editor-last3=Hookey |editor-first3=J. L. |editor-last4=Lacey |editor-first4=R. J.}}</ref>
 
On 6 November 1884, after the Australian colonies had promised financial support, the territory became a British [[protectorate]]. 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 new [[Commonwealth of Australia]].{{why|date=January 2021}} With the passage of the Papua Act 1905, the area was officially renamed the Territory of Papua, and Australian administration formally began in 1906.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/papua-new-guinea | title=National Museum of Australia - Papua New Guinea }}</ref>
The northern part of modern Papua New Guinea, then known as ''[[Kaiser-Wilhelmsland]]'' and part of the [[colony]] of [[German New Guinea]], had been under German commercial control since [[1884]] and passed to direct rule by the German government in [[1899]].
 
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 [[colony]] of [[German New Guinea]], then known as ''[[Kaiser-Wilhelmsland]]''. At the outbreak of 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]].
In [[1902]], Papua was effectively transferred to the authority of the new British [[dominion]] of [[Australia]]. With the passage of the Papua Act of 1905, the area was officially renamed the Territory of Papua, and Australian administration became formal in [[1906]] although Papua remained a ''de jure'' British possession until the independence of Papua New Guinea in 1975, an anomaly which has continuing minor legal significance with respect to certain statutes which have force in the former Papua but not the former Australian New Guinea.
 
===World War II===
Shortly after the start of the [[Pacific War]], the island of New Guinea was invaded by the [[Japan]]ese. Papua was the least affected region. Most of [[Western New Guinea]], at that time known as [[Dutch New Guinea]], was occupied, as were large parts of the Territory of New Guinea (the former German New Guinea, which was also under Australian rule after [[World War I]]), but Papua was protected to a large extent by its southern location and the near-impassable [[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.
[[File:Australian troops at Milne Bay.jpg|thumb|200px|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 [[Pacific War]], the island of New Guinea was invaded by the [[Japan]]ese. Papua was the least affected region. Most of [[West Papua (region)|West Papua]], at that time known as [[Dutch New Guinea]], was occupied, as were large parts of the [[Territory of New Guinea]] (the former [[German New Guinea]], which was also under Australian rule after [[World War I]]), but Papua was protected to a large extent by its southern location and the near-impassable [[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|date=May 2011}}
 
The [[New Guinea campaign]] opened with the battles for [[New Britain]] and [[New Ireland Province|New Ireland]] in the [[Territory of New Guinea]] in 1942. [[Rabaul]], the capital of the Territory, was [[Battle of Rabaul (1942)|overwhelmed 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ajrp.awm.gov.au/ajrp/remember.nsf/Web-Printer/C6FD73CC5C579789CA256AC000135979?OpenDocument |title=Remembering the war in New Guinea - Rabaul |publisher=Ajrp.awm.gov.au |access-date=2017-10-02}}</ref> Having had their initial effort to capture Port Moresby by a seaborne invasion disrupted by the [[U.S. Navy]] and Australian navy in the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]], the Japanese attempted a landward attack from the north via the [[Kokoda Track]]. From July 1942, a few Australian reserve battalions, many of them very young and untrained, fought a stubborn [[rearguard]] action against the Japanese attack, over the rugged [[Owen Stanley Range|Owen Stanley Ranges]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/units/event_291.asp |title=Kokoda Trail Campaign &#124; The Australian War Memorial |publisher=Awm.gov.au |date=1942-07-21 |access-date=2017-10-02}}</ref> 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 the [[Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of World War II|Mediterranean Theatre]].
Post-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, which later became the fully independent [[Papua New Guinea]]. However, for the purposes of [[Australian nationality law|Australian nationality]] a distinction was maintained between the two territories.
 
In early September 1942 Japanese marines attacked a strategic Royal Australian Air Force base at [[Milne Bay]], near the eastern tip of Papua. They were beaten back by the Australian Army, and the [[Battle of Milne Bay]] was the first outright defeat of Japanese land forces during World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/units/event_345.asp |title=Battle of Milne Bay &#124; The Australian War Memorial |publisher=Awm.gov.au |access-date=2017-10-02}}</ref> 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.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/23/new-guinea-offensive/ |title=Wartime Issue 23 - New Guinea Offensive &#124; Australian War Memorial |access-date=2011-07-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624035623/http://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/23/new-guinea-offensive/ |archive-date=24 June 2011}}</ref> The Supreme Commander of operations was the United States General [[Douglas Macarthur]], with Australian General [[Thomas Blamey]] taking a direct role in planning, and operations being essentially directed by staff at New Guinea Force headquarters in Port Moresby.<ref name="autogenerated2"/> Bitter fighting continued in New Guinea between the largely Australian force and the Japanese [[Eighteenth Army (Japan)|18th Army]] based in New Guinea until the [[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 law|Australian nationality]] a distinction was maintained between the two territories.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/passports/Policy/Citizenship/index.htm |title=Passport Manual - Publications - Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |access-date=2013-05-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504191213/http://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/passports/Policy/Citizenship/index.htm |archive-date=4 May 2013}}</ref> The act provided for a [[Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea|Legislative Council]] (which was established in 1951), a judicial system, a public service, and a system of local government.<ref name="state1"/>
 
Under [[Minister for Regional Services, Decentralisation and Local Government|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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=145641 |title=Peacock made 'bird of paradise' chief |access-date=2011-07-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204010222/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=145641 |archive-date=4 December 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/whitlam/in-office.aspx |title=In office - Gough Whitlam - Australia's PMs - Australia's Prime Ministers |publisher=Primeministers.naa.gov.au |access-date=2017-10-02}}</ref>
 
==See also==
{{portal|New Guinea}}
* [[List of colonial heads of Papua]]
*[[Hiri Motu]]
* [[History of Papua New Guinea]]
*[[History of Queensland]]
*[[History of Australia]]
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}
 
==Further reading==
*Dispela Kantri Bilong Mi, Nau! Queensland Annexes New Guinea, by Paul Dillon, ISBN: 9780994638168, 2023; and
* ''Colonial Intrusion'', Papua New Guinea Centennial Committee, Port Moresby 1984, ISBN 9980-84-009-9
*Queensland's contribution to the development of British New Guinea, by Paul Dillon, ISBN: 9781922815880, Connor Court Publishing, Brisbane 2023.
 
{{States and territories of Australia}}
{{Territories of the British Empire}}
{{British overseas territories}}
 
{{coord missing|Papua New Guinea}}
[[Category:Geography of Australia]]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:New Guinea]]
[[Category:History of Papua New Guinea]]
[[Category:History of Australia (1901-1945)]]
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papua, Territory of}}
[[de:Territorium Papua]]
[[Category:Territory of Papua| ]]
[[fr:Territoire de Papouasie]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1975]]
[[he:פפואה (טריטוריה אוסטרלית)]]
[[Category:History of the foreign relations of Australia]]
[[id:Teritori Papua]]
[[Category:Former states and territories of Australia|Papua]]
[[pl:Papua (terytorium)]]
[[Category:Australia–Papua New Guinea relations]]
[[Category:Former British colonies and protectorates in Oceania]]
[[Category:1884 establishments in the British Empire]]
[[Category:1884 establishments in Oceania]]
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