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 New Guineaportal |
General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea for the first time on 10 November 1951. [1]
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| New Guineaportal |
General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea for the first time on 10 November 1951. [1]
The Legislative Council was formed following the amalgamation of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea after World War II. The bill passed by the Australian parliament provided for a 29-member Council consisting of the Administrator, 16 civil servants, nine members appointed by the Administrator (three representatives of the indigenous population, three representing European settlers and three representing missionaries) and three elected Europeans. [2] The Administrator served as presiding officer of the legislature. [3]
Voting was restricted to residents aged 21 or over who had lived in the territory for the last 12 months prior to registering to vote and were not classed as a native or alien. [3] The Chinese community were also given the right to vote alongside Europeans. [4] Candidates had to have lived continuously in the territory for the three years prior to submitting their nomination paper and not be a public employee. [3]
The three elected members were elected from three single-member constituencies, New Guinea Islands, New Guinea Mainland and Papua by preferential voting. [1]
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Guinea Islands | Don Barrett | 150 | 52.6 | Elected |
| P.A. MacKenzie | 95 | 33.3 | ||
| G. Renton | 40 | 14.0 | ||
| New Guinea Mainland | Carl Jacobsen | 158 | 50.1 | Elected |
| S.B. Barker | 67 | 21.5 | ||
| N.H. White | 66 | 21.2 | ||
| E.C.N. Helton | 20 | 6.4 | ||
| Papua | Ernest James | 268 | Elected after vote transfers | |
| J.I. Cromie | 223 | |||
| J.R. Bleck | ||||
| T.F. Rosser | ||||
| M. Infante | ||||
| N.F. Maloney | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | – | |||
| Total | 1,295 | 100 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,697 | 76.3 | ||
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly | ||||
| Position | Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Jack Keith Murray | |
| Civil servants | Chief Collector of Customs | Thomas Philip Myles Byrne |
| Acting Government Secretary | Claude Champion | |
| Assistant Director of District Services and Native Affairs | Ivan Champion | |
| Assistant Administrator | Donald Cleland | |
| District Commissioner for Northern | Sydney Elliott-Smith | |
| Acting Assistant Director of District Services and Native Affairs | John Rollo Foldi | |
| Director of Education | William Groves | |
| Director of Public Health | John Gunther | |
| Secretary of Lands, Surveys and Mines | Eric Patrick Holmes | |
| Director of District Services and Native Affairs | Bert Jones | |
| Director of Forests | James Bannister McAdam | |
| District Commissioner for New Britain | John Keith McCarthy | |
| Acting Director of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries | Colin Charles Marr | |
| District Commissioner for Morobe | Horrie Niall | |
| Treasurer and Director of Finance | Harold Reeve | |
| Crown Law Officer | Walter William Watkins | |
| Representatives of Europeans | Doris Booth | |
| Basil Fairfax-Ross | ||
| John Bexley Sedgers | ||
| Representatives of Natives | Merari Dickson | |
| Aisoli Salin | ||
| Pita Simogun | ||
| Representatives of Missionaries | James Dwyer | |
| Frank George Lewis | ||
| David Eric Ure | ||
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly | ||
The new Legislative Council met for the first time in Port Moresby on 26 November. [5]
In February 1952 Steven Lonergan (Government Secretary) and R.E.P. Dwyer (Director of Agriculture) replaced Claude Champion and Colin Marr, who had been acting in their positions at the time the council was appointed. [6] Thomas Byrne died in February 1952 and was temporarily replaced by Acting Chief Collector of Customs Thomas Grahamslaw until Frank Lee was appointed as Byrne's permanent replacement later in the year. [6] [7]
Bert Jones was replaced by the new Director of Native Affairs Alan Roberts in November 1953. [8] C.D. Bates (District Commissioner for Morobe) and Douglas Macinnis (Secretary of Lands, Surveys and Mines) also joined the Council during its term. [3]
The prehistory of Papua New Guinea can be traced to about 50,000–60,000 years ago, when people first migrated towards the Australian continent. The written history began when European navigators first sighted New Guinea in the early part of the 17th century.
The Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea was a legislative body in Papua New Guinea between 1951 and 1963. It was established by the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 of Australia, which provided for the combined administration of the Territory of Papua and Territory of New Guinea under the United Nations trust territory system. It had the power to make Ordinances for the "peace, order and good government" of the territory, subject to the assent of the Australian-appointed Administrator.
Brigadier Sir Donald Mackinnon Cleland, was an Australian soldier and administrator.
General elections were held in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea between 19 February and 11 March 1972. They saw the election of the country's first female MP, Josephine Abaijah.
General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea on 2 October 1954.
General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea on 31 August 1957.
General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea on 27 August 1960.
General elections were held in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea on 18 March 1961. Indigenous members were elected for the first time, although on an indirect basis. The territory's first political party, the United Progress Party, won three seats.
General elections were held in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea between 15 February and 15 March 1964. They were the first elections in the territory held under universal suffrage. Voter turnout among enrolled voters was 65%.
General elections were held in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea between 17 February and 16 March 1968.
John Keith McCarthy was an Australian public servant in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. He rose to become Director of Agriculture, also serving as a member of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly.
John Herbert Jones was an Australian public servant. He spent most of his career in Papua and New Guinea, serving as an official member of the Legislative Council between 1951 and 1953.
Thomas Grahamslaw was an Australian public servant. He spent most of his life in Papua and New Guinea, where he worked as a civil servant and served as an official member of the Legislative Council.
John Lester Chipper was an English-born Papua New Guinean businessman and politician. He served in the Legislative Council in two spells between 1959 and 1964 and headed the local council of Rabaul for several years.
Oala Oala-Rarua was a Papua New Guinean educator, civil servant, trade unionist, politician and diplomat. He served as a member of the House of Assembly and Assistant Minister for the Treasury between 1968 and 1972, later becoming the first Lord Mayor of Port Moresby and High Commissioner to Australia.
Claude Champion was an Australian public servant in Papua New Guinea. He served as a member of the Legislative Council in two spells between 1951 and 1961.
Sir John Thomson Gunther was an Australian public servant who spent most of his career in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. Holding several key roles in the territory's civil service, he was also a member of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly from 1951 to 1966.
Steven Ainsworth Lonergan was an Australian public servant, who spent most of his career in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. He served in the Legislative Council from 1952 to 1959.
Basil Edward Fairfax-Ross was an Australian businessman who spent much of his career in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. He served as a nominated member of the Legislative Council from 1951 to 1963.
Ivan Francis Champion was an Australian public servant in Papua New Guinea. He served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1951 and 1963.
