Territory of Papua
The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. 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. On 18 March 1902, the Territory was placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia. Resolutions of acceptance were passed by the Commonwealth Parliament, which accepted the territory under the name of Papua.
Territory of Papua | |||||||||
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| 1883–1975 | |||||||||
| Status | Queensland dependency (1883–1884) British protectorate (1884–1888) British colony (1888–1902) Australian external territory (1902–1975) | ||||||||
| Capital | Port Moresby | ||||||||
| Common languages | English (official), Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu (native lingua franca), many Austronesian languages, Papuan languages | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• 1883–1901 | Queen Victoria | ||||||||
• 1952–1975 | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Lieutenant-Governor | |||||||||
• 1884–1885 | Peter Scratchley | ||||||||
• 1908–1940 | Hubert Murray | ||||||||
• 1945–1949 | Jack Keith Murray | ||||||||
| Legislature | Legislative council House of Assembly | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Annexation by Queensland | 1883 | ||||||||
| 6 November 1883 | |||||||||
| 1975 | |||||||||
| Currency | Australian pound | ||||||||
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| History of Papua New Guinea |
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| New Guinea portal |
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. That administrative union was renamed as Papua New Guinea in 1971. 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.