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 New Guineaportal |
General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea on 31 August 1957.
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| New Guineaportal |
General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea on 31 August 1957.
The 29-member Legislative Council consisted 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. [1] The Chinese community were also given the right to vote alongside Europeans. [2]
The three elected members were elected from three single-member constituencies, New Guinea Islands, New Guinea Mainland and Papua by preferential voting. [3] Voting was not compulsory. [4]
Automatic postal voting was introduced for all registered voters who lived over ten miles from the nearest polling station. [5]
In New Guinea Islands, incumbent MLC Don Barrett was opposed by Dudley Jones, a Rabaul lawyer. [5]
George Whittaker did not stand for re-election in New Guinea Mainland after retiring. The seat was contested by Ian Downs, a former District Commissioner, and Sydney Barker, a dentist and miner from Wau. [6]
The Papua seat was contested by the incumbent Ernest James and Craig Kirke, a solicitor based in Port Moresby. [5]
Dudley Jones unexpectedly defeated Don Barrett in New Guinea Islands, whilst Ian Downs was elected in New Guinea Mainland and Ernest James was re-elected in Papua. [7] Over 3,000 people voted, [7] a significant increase on the 734 votes cast in the 1954 elections (although one seat had been uncontested).
Doris Booth declined to be re-nominated as a European member, with John Hohnen nominated in her place, whilst Merari Dickson was replaced by Mahuru Rarua-Rarua as a native representative. [7]
| Position | Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Representatives of Europeans | Robert Bunting | |
| Basil Fairfax-Ross | ||
| John Hohnen | ||
| Representatives of Natives | Mahuru Rarua-Rarua | |
| Pita Simogun | ||
| John Vuia | ||
| Representatives of Missionaries | James Dwyer | |
| Philip Strong | ||
| David Eric Ure | ||
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.
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 for the first time on 10 November 1951.
General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea on 2 October 1954.
General elections were held in Western Samoa on 15 November 1957.
George Kenneth Whittaker was an Australian optometrist, planter, soldier and politician in Papua New Guinea.
By-elections for all three elected seats in the Legislative Council were held in Papua and New Guinea on 12 September 1959. The incumbent MLCs had resigned due to the imposition of income tax in the territory by the Australian government. All three seats were won by candidates supported by the Taxpayers' Association. The three new MLCs all resigned by 1 October.
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.
Carl Mallesch Jacobsen was an Australian-born politician and farmer who served as a member of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea between 1951 and 1954.
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%.
Ernest Alfred James was an accountant, newspaper proprietor and politician in the Territory of Papua New Guinea. He served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1951 and 1959.
General elections were held in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea between 17 February and 16 March 1968.
Donald Barrett was an Australian planter, army major, politician and sports coach in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. He served as a member of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly in two spells between 1951 and 1968.
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.
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.
Sir Pita Simogun was a Papua New Guinean policeman, farmer and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council from 1951 to 1961 and then as a member of the House of Assembly from 1964 to 1968, during which time he was also Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Police.
Vin ToBaining was one of the first six elected indigenous members of the colonial-era Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea, between 1961 and 1963. Subsequently, he was involved in the formation of the Pangu Party in 1967, which went on the form the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) when the country became independent in 1975.
