New Guinea Act 1920

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New Guinea Act 1920
Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
Parliament of Australia
  • An Act to make provision for the Acceptance of a Mandate for the Government of certain Territories and Islands in the Pacific Ocean and to make immediate provision for the Civil Government of the said Territories and Islands for other purposes.
Royal assent 30 September 1920
Commenced19 May 1921
Related legislation
Papua and New Guinea Act 1949
Status: Repealed

The New Guinea Act 1920 was an Act passed by the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, which saw the transfer of the territory of German New Guinea from Germany to Australia under terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

The Act formally established New Guinea as a League of Nations Mandated Territory that was to be administered by Australia. [1] The Act remained in effect until New Guinea's merger with Papua following the passage of the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Papua New Guinea</span> Chronicle of Papua New Guinea

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.

<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. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is 9,300 km2 (3,600 sq mi). The population of the whole province, including nearby islets such as the Carterets, is approximately 300,000. The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at 2,715 m (8,907 ft). The much smaller Buka Island, c. 500 km2 (190 sq mi), lies to the north, across the 400–500 m (1,300–1,600 ft) wide Buka Strait. Even though the strait is narrow, there is no bridge across it, but there is a regular ferry service between the key settlements on either side. The main airport in the north is in the town of Buka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German New Guinea</span> 1884–1914 German colony in northeast New Guinea

German New Guinea consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, became a German protectorate in 1884. Other island groups were added subsequently. The Bismarck Archipelago, and the North Solomon Islands were declared a German protectorate in 1885; in the same year the Marshall Islands were bought from Spain for $4.5 million by the Hispano-German Protocol of Rome; Nauru was annexed to the Marshall Islands protectorate in 1888, and finally the Caroline Islands, Palau, and the Mariana Islands were bought from Spain in 1899. German Samoa, though part of the German colonial empire, was not part of German New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Papua New Guinea</span> National flag

The flag of Papua New Guinea was adopted on 1 July 1971. In the hoist, it depicts the Southern Cross; in the fly, a Raggiana bird-of-paradise is silhouetted. The design was chosen through a nationwide design competition in early 1971. The winning designer was Susan Karike, who was 15 at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Territory of Papua</span> British and Australian colony in Oceania from 1883 to 1975

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaiser-Wilhelmsland</span> Northeast part of New Guinea

Kaiser-Wilhelmsland formed part of German New Guinea, the South Pacific protectorate of the German Empire. Named in honour of Wilhelm I, who reigned as German Emperor from 1871 to 1888, it included the northern part of present-day Papua New Guinea. From 1884 until 1920 the territory was a protectorate of the German Empire. Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, the Bismarck Archipelago, the northern Solomon Islands, the Caroline Islands, Palau, Nauru, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Marshall Islands comprised German New Guinea.

The House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea was the legislature of the territory of Papua and New Guinea from 1964 to 1972. Before 1964, the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea sat from 1951 to 1964 under the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949. After independence in 1975, the legislature was renamed from the House of Assembly of Papua New Guinea to the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea</span> Legislative body in Papua New Guinea 1951–1963

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua and New Guinea Act 1949</span> Act of the Parliament of Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua Act 1905</span> Act of the Parliament of Australia

The Papua Act 1905(Cth) was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which transferred the territory of Papua from Britain to Australia. It formally incorporated Papua as an external territory of Australia and remained in effect until Papua's merger with New Guinea with the passage of the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Territory of New Guinea</span> 1919–1949 Australian territory in northeast New Guinea

The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered 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 pound was the currency of the Australian Territory of New Guinea between 1915 and 1966, and replaced the New Guinean mark when Australia occupied the former German colony at the end of World War I. The New Guinean pound was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence, and was equal to the Australian pound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">States and territories of Australia</span> Overarching divisions of authority in Australia

The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing polities with incomplete sovereignty and have their own constitutions, legislatures, departments, and certain civil authorities that administer and deliver most public policies and programs. Territories can be autonomous and administer local policies and programs much like the states in practice, but are still constitutionally and financially subordinate to the federal government and thus have no true sovereignty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Territory of Papua and New Guinea</span> 1949–1975 Australian territory in east New Guinea

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.

Copra plantations in New Guinea have been cultivated since the late 19th century, originally by German colonialists. They were continued by Australian interests following World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia–Papua New Guinea relations</span> Bilateral relations

Foreign relations exist between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is Australia's closest neighbour and a former colony of Australia. Both nations share the same continent. Papua New Guinea has developed much closer relations with Australia than with Indonesia, the only country with which it shares a land border. The two countries are Commonwealth realms. In contemporary times, Papua New Guinea is one of the largest recipients of Australian aid. Critics have pointed to instances where this has led to an outsized Australian influence on Papua New Guinea politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Guinea</span>

https://www.youtube.com/@Mfe999 MCPLOL Aar_on02 WGD_Bruh

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Papua New Guinea</span>

The postage stamps and postal history of Papua New Guinea originated in the two colonial administrations on the eastern part of the island of New Guinea and continued until their eventual merger, followed by independence in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975</span> Legal Act of Independence of Papua New Guinea

The Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Australia. It replaced the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949, and changed the status of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea to that of an independent Papua New Guinea. The Act set 16 September 1975 as date of Papua New Guinea's independence and terminated all remaining sovereign and legislative powers of Australia over the country.

Papua New Guinean nationality law is regulated by the 1975 Constitution of Papua New Guinea, as amended; the Citizenship Act 1975, and its revisions; and international agreements entered into by the Papua New Guinean government. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Papua New Guinea. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Papua New Guinean nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Papua New Guinea or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Papua New Guinean nationality. It can be granted to persons who have lived in the country for a specific period of time, who have contributed to the country's development, or who have an affiliation to the country through naturalization.

References

  1. "New Guinea Act 1920".