List of colonial governors of Papua New Guinea

Last updated December 18, 2024

This article lists the colonial governors of Papua New Guinea , from the establishment of German New Guinea in 1884 until the independence of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1975.

List

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

New Guinea

League of Nations mandates in the Pacific Ocean. The Territory of New Guinea (bordered in green) is number 2. League of Nations mandate Pacific.png — League of Nations mandates in the Pacific Ocean. The Territory of New Guinea (bordered in *green*) is number 2.

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
Commissioner of German New Guinea (1885–1887)
1885 to January 1887	Gustav von Oertzen [ de ]
Landeshauptleute of the German New Guinea Company (1886–1889)
10 June 1886 to 1 March 1888	Georg von Schleinitz
1 March 1888 to 31 October 1889	Reinhold Kraetke [ de ]
Commissioner of German New Guinea (1889–1892)
1 November 1889 to 31 August 1892	Fritz Rose [ de ]	Acting to 30 September 1890
Landeshauptleute of the German New Guinea Company (1892–1899)
1 September 1892 to 3 March 1895	Georg Schmiele [ de ]
3 March 1895 to 17 August 1896	Hugo Rüdiger [ de ]
22 September 1896 to 13 August 1897	Curt von Hagen [ de ]	Died in office
15 August 1897 to 11 September 1897	Albert Hahl	First time, acting
11 September 1897 to 31 March 1899	Hugo Skopnik [ de ]
In 1899, following the German–Spanish Treaty, the German Empire assumed direct control of the colony from the German New Guinea Company, appointing a governor.
Governors of German New Guinea (1899–1914)
1 April 1899 to 10 July 1901	Rudolf von Bennigsen
10 July 1901 to 13 April 1914	Albert Hahl	Second time, acting to 10 November 1902
13 April 1914 to 17 October 1914	Eduard Haber	Acting
In 1914, as part of the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I, an expeditionary force from Australia called the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) captured and occupied the territory following the Battle of Bita Paka and the Siege of Toma. In 1920, the territory was turned into a League of Nations mandate, administered by Australia, and formalized with the passage of the New Guinea Act 1920.
Military Administrators of the Territory of New Guinea (1914–1921)
11 November 1914 to 8 January 1915	Colonel William Holmes	Killed in the Battle of Messines (1917)
8 January 1915 to 21 October 1917	Colonel Samuel Pethebridge
21 October 1917 to 21 April 1918	Seaforth Simpson Mackenzie	Acting
21 April 1918 to 1 May 1920	George Johnston
1 May 1920 to 21 March 1921	Thomas Griffiths	First time
Administrators of the Territory of New Guinea (1921–1942)
21 May 1921 to 13 June 1933	Evan Wisdom
13 June 1933 to 12 September 1934	Thomas Griffiths	Second time, acting
12 September 1934 to December 1942	Walter McNicoll	From 14 December 1937, Sir Walter Ramsay McNicoll; in Australia from 24 January 1942
24 January 1942 to 12 February 1942	Kenneth Carlyle McMullen	Acting for McNicoll
Japanese Commanders of occupied New Guinea (1942–1945)
21 January 1942 to 1942	Tomitarō Horii
9 November 1942 to 13 September 1945	Hatazō Adachi	Commander of the 18th Army
9 November 1942 to 6 September 1945	Hitoshi Imamura	Commander of the 8th Area Army, based at Rabaul, in charge of New Guinea islands
U.S. Military Commanders (1943–1944)
June 1943 to September 1944	Walter Krueger	Commander of the 6th Army
September 1944 to December 1944	Robert L. Eichelberger	Commander of the 8th Army
Heads of the New Guinea Administrative Unit (1942)
14 February 1942 to 15 February 1942	George Wilfred Lambert Townsend	Based in Port Moresby
15 February 1942 to 10 April 1942	Kenneth Carlyle McMullen	Based in Port Moresby

In 1945, the Territory of New Guinea was merged with the Territory of Papua to form the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. The merger was formalized with the passage of the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949.

Papua

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
Magistrate for Queensland in New Guinea (1883)
3 April 1883 to 2 July 1883	Henry Majoribanks Chester	Police Magistrate on Thursday Island
Special Commissioners for Great Britain in New Guinea (1884–1885)
6 November 1884 to 2 December 1885	Peter Scratchley	From 6 June 1885, Sir Peter Scratchley. Died in office
2 December 1885 to 1886	Hugh Hastings Romilly	Acting
1886 to 1887	John Douglas
Administrator of British New Guinea (1888–1895)
1888 to 1895	Sir William MacGregor
Lieutenant-Governors of British New Guinea (1895–1904)
1895 to 1897	Sir William MacGregor
1898 to 1903	George Le Hunte
1903 to 1904	Christopher Stansfield Robinson	Acting administrator
Lieutenant-Governors of Papua (1904–1942)
1904 to 1907	Francis Rickman Barton	Acting. The territory was renamed from British New Guinea to Papua with the passage of the Papua Act 1905
1908 to 27 February 1940	Sir Hubert Murray	Died in office
27 February 1940 to 1942	Hubert Leonard Murray	Nephew of Sir Hubert Murray; acting
Military Administrator (1942–1946)
13 February 1942 to 31 October 1945	Major General Basil Morris	Commander of the 8th Military District
Head of the Papuan Civil Administrative Unit (1942)
14 February 1942 to 10 April 1942	Sydney Elliott-Smith	In Port Moresby
General Officers Commanding of the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit [ANGAU] (1942–1946)
10 April 1942 to August 1942	Kenneth Carlyle McMullen	In Port Moresby
August 1942 to 24 June 1946	Major General Basil Morris	In Port Moresby until October 1945, afterwards in Lae. Styled as Head of the ANGAU until 7 February 1944
4 September 1944 to 9 December 1944	Brigadier Donald Cleland	Acting for Morris

In 1945, the Territory of Papua was merged with the Territory of New Guinea to form the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. The merger was formalized with the passage of the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949.

Papua New Guinea

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
Administrators of Papua and New Guinea (1945–1973)
11 October 1945 to 5 June 1952	Jack Keith Murray OBE	Provisional to 1 July 1949
July 1952 to December 1966	Brigadier Donald Cleland CBE	From 10 June 1961, Sir Donald Cleland
9 January 1967 to 1970	David Hay CBE , DSO
1970 to 1 December 1973	Leslie Wilson Johnson CBE	In 1972, the name of the territory was changed to Papua New Guinea ^[1]
December 1973	William Kearney CBE	Acting^[2]
High Commissioners of Papua New Guinea (1973–1975)
December 1973	William Kearney CBE	Acting^[3]
1 December 1973 to March 1974	Leslie Wilson Johnson CBE
March 1974 to 16 September 1975	Thomas Kingston Critchley AO , CBE	Afterwards served as the Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea until 1978

On 16 September 1975, Papua New Guinea achieved independence following the passage of the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975. For a list of viceroys in Papua New Guinea after independence, see Governor-General of Papua New Guinea.

Related Research Articles

Papua New Guinea is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. It has a land border with Indonesia to the west and neighbours Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, on its southern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of 462,840 km² (178,700 sq mi).

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.

Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. It contained what are now Indonesia's six easternmost provinces, Central Papua, Highland Papua, Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and West Papua, which were administered as a single province prior to 2003 under the name Irian Jaya, and now comprise the Papua region of the country.

Port Moresby, also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific outside of Australia and New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the south-western coast of the Papuan Peninsula of the island of New Guinea. The city emerged as a trade centre in the second half of the 19th century. During World War II, it was a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43 as a staging point and air base to cut off Australia from Southeast Asia and the Americas. Due to its population and outsized influence compared to other cities in Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby may be regarded as a primate city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bougainville Island</span> Island in Papua New Guinea

Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is 9,300 km² (3,600 sq mi). The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at 2,715 m (8,907 ft).

The Free Papua Movement or Free Papua Organization is a name given to a separatist movement that aims to separate West Papua from Indonesia and establish an independent state in the region. The territory is currently divided into six Indonesian provinces of Central Papua, Highland Papua, Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and West Papua, also formerly known as Papua, Irian Jaya and West Irian.

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.

The Republic of West Papua, alternatively known as the Federal Republic of West Papua is a quasi-state consisting of the Western New Guinea region, which is currently part of Indonesia on the continent of Oceania. The region has been part of Indonesia since 1 May 1963 under several names in the following order, West Irian, Irian Jaya, and Papua. Today the region comprises six Indonesian provinces: Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua, West Papua, and Southwest Papua.

The Act of Free Choice was a controversial plebiscite held between 14 July and 2 August 1969 in which 1,025 people selected by the Indonesian military in Western New Guinea voted unanimously in favor of Indonesian control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Pacific Islands Regiment</span> Infantry regiment of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force

The Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (RPIR) is an infantry regiment of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF). The regiment is descended from the Australian Army infantry battalions formed from native soldiers and Australian officers and non-commissioned officers in the territories of Papua and New Guinea during World War II to help fight against the Japanese. Disbanded after the war, the regiment was re-raised in 1951 as part of the Australian Army and continued to serve until Papua New Guinea gained its independence in 1975, when it became part of the PNGDF. Today, the RPIR consists of two battalions and has seen active service in Vanuatu, Bougainville and the Solomon Islands.

The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. It was created in 1964 as the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea but gained its current name after the nation was granted independence in 1975.

The Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Australia. It replaced the Papua Act 1905 and the New Guinea Act 1920, and changed the status of the territories of Papua and New Guinea by merging their administrations to form Papua and New Guinea. The Act established local rule, although the territory remained under control by Australia. The Act was repealed by the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 which allowed for Papua New Guinea's independence from Australia.

The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered League of Nations and then United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua 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 New Guinea at all times retained a distinct legal status and identity until the advent of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

The states and territories are the second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the federal government. They have their own constitutions, legislatures, executive governments, judiciaries and law enforcement agencies that administer and deliver public policies and programs. Territories can be autonomous and administer local policies and programs much like the states in practice, but are still legally subordinate to the federal government.

The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New Guinea in 1949. In December 1971, the name of the Territory changed to "Papua New Guinea" and in 1975 it became the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

The monarchy of Papua New Guinea is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Papua New Guinea. The current Papua New Guinean monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Papua New Guinean Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of Papua New Guinea and, in this capacity, he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of Papua New Guinea. However, the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.

Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to be an illegal act. Annexation is a unilateral act where territory is seized and held by one state, as distinct from the complete conquest of another country, and differs from cession, in which territory is given or sold through treaty.

There are six monarchies in Oceania with an individual hereditary monarch, who is recognised as the head of state. Each is a constitutional monarchy: the sovereign inherits his or her office, usually keeps it until death or abdication, but is bound by laws and customs in the exercise of their powers. Five of these independent states share King Charles III as their head of state, making them part of a global grouping known as the Commonwealth realms; in addition, all monarchies of Oceania are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. The only sovereign monarchy in Oceania that does not share a monarch with another state is Tonga. Australia and New Zealand have dependencies within the region and outside it, although five non-sovereign constituent monarchs are recognized by New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and France.

The Papua conflict is an ongoing conflict in Western New Guinea (Papua) between Indonesia and the Free Papua Movement. Subsequent to the withdrawal of the Dutch administration from the Netherlands New Guinea in 1962 and implementation of Indonesian administration in 1963, the Free Papua Movement has conducted a low-intensity guerrilla war against Indonesia by targeting its military and police, along with ordinary Indonesian civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebia Olewale</span> Papua New Guinea politician

Sir Ebia Olewale (1940–2009) was a politician in Papua New Guinea (PNG). He was elected as a member of the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea in 1968 and went on to hold several ministerial positions during the period of self-governance and after PNG's independence in 1975, including that of deputy prime minister. He was knighted in 1983 and served as chancellor of the University of Goroka from 2000 to 2006. From 2002 until his death, he was a director of the Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Program.

References

↑ "Papua New Guinea". State.gov. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
↑ "Judges". archive.vn. 5 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
↑ "University of Papua New Guinea Ordinance 1965 RE-APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA". Papua New Guinea Government Gazette (1971–1975). 20 December 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 5 January 2021.

External links

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[state1-1] "Papua New Guinea". State.gov. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.

[2] "Judges". archive.vn. 5 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2021.

[3] "University of Papua New Guinea Ordinance 1965 RE-APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA". Papua New Guinea Government Gazette (1971–1975). 20 December 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 5 January 2021.

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v t e Governors of German New Guinea (1885–1914)
Commissioner	Gustav von Oertzen [ de ] (1885–1887)	Flag of German New Guinea
Landeshauptleute of the German New Guinea Company	Georg von Schleinitz (1886–1888) Reinhold Kraetke [ de ] (1888–1889)
Commissioner	Fritz Rose [ de ] (1889–1892)
Landeshauptleute of the German New Guinea Company	Georg Schmiele [ de ] (1892–1895) Hugo Rüdiger [ de ] (1895–1896) Curt von Hagen [ de ] (1896–1897) Albert Hahl (1897)* Hugo Skopnik [ de ] (1897–1899)
Governors	Rudolf von Bennigsen (1899–1901) Albert Hahl (1901–1914) Eduard Haber (1914)*
*acting