Administration of Papua

03 September 1906

The administration of British New Guinea (the south-east section of the island of New Guinea) began to be transferred to Australia in 1902. Renamed 'Papua', the region had been a British territory since 1884 after it was briefly occupied by the colony of Queensland the previous year. The transfer was formally completed in 1906 when the Papua Act 1905 came into effect.

Governing Papua allowed Australia to present itself as a modern and mature nation on the international stage. It marked the beginning of Australia's colonial responsibilities and prevented other colonial powers from expanding into the western Pacific. Papua also served as a buffer between German New Guinea (the north-east section of New Guinea and adjacent islands) and mainland Australia.

At the outbreak of war in 1914, Australia occupied German New Guinea and Nauru - another German colony. After the war, the League of Nations gave Australia a mandate – an official order – to administer German New Guinea and co-administer Nauru with Britain and New Zealand. This meant Australia was able to benefit from the mining of Nauru's large phosphate deposits.

Australia administered Nauru, New Guinea and Papua (from 1949 the Territory of Papua and New Guinea) until they gained independence in 1968 and 1975 respectively.