Territory of Papua 603723 221314649 2008-06-24T00:01:46Z Lacrimosus 74131 /* History */ {{Infobox Former Country |native_name = Papua |conventional_long_name = Territory of Papua |common_name = Papua |continent = Oceania |region = New Guinea |status= Colony |empire= United Kingdom |status_text=Colony |year_start = 1884 |year_end = 1949 |date_start = November 6 |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]] |s1 = Territory of Papua and New Guinea |flag_s1 = Flag of Australia.svg |image_map = LocationTerritoryPapua.png |image_map_caption = |capital = Canberra |common_languages = [[English language|English]] (official), [[Austronesian languages]], [[Papuan languages]], [[Tok Pisin language|English creoles]] |title_leader = [[King of the United Kingdom|King]] |leader1 = [[List of British monarchs]] |title_deputy = [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] |deputy1 = [[List of Prime Ministers of Australia]] |title_representative = [[Lieutenant-Governor of Papua|Lieutenant-Governor]] |representative1 = [[List of colonial heads of Papua|List of Lieutenant-Governors of Papua]] |era = |currency = [[Australian pound|Australian Pound]] }} 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. ==History== [[Image:British flag raised on new guinea annexed by queensland.jpg|thumb|left|British flag raised in 1883 when 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. On [[6 November]] [[1884]], after the Australian colonies had promised financial support, the territory became a British [[protectorate]]. On [[4 September]], [[1888]] it was annexed, together with some adjacent islands, by [[United Kingdom|Britain]] as British New Guinea. 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]]. 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. 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. 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. ==See also== * [[List of colonial heads of Papua]] * [[History of Papua New Guinea]] ==Further reading== * ''Colonial Intrusion'', Papua New Guinea Centennial Committee, Port Moresby 1984, ISBN 9980-84-009-9 {{Territories of the British Empire}} [[Category:Geography of Australia]] [[Category:New Guinea]] [[Category:History of Papua New Guinea]] [[Category:History of Australia (1901-1945)]] [[de:Territorium Papua]] [[fr:Territoire de Papouasie]] [[he:פפואה (טריטוריה אוסטרלית)]] [[pl:Papua (terytorium)]]