Territory of Papua

Territory of Papua
British colony
1883–1975
Flag Badge
Green: Territory of Papua Light green: Queensland (annexed Papua in 1883) Dark grey: Other British possessions
Capital		Port Moresby
Languages		English (official), Hiri Motu (native lingua franca), many Austronesian languages, Papuan languages
Political structure		Colony
King		List of British monarchs
Lieutenant-Governor		List of Lieutenant-Governors of Papua
Prime Minister		List of Prime Ministers of Australia
History
•	Annexation by Queensland	1883
•	Colonization	6 November 1883
•	Union with New Guinea	1975
Currency		Australian Pound
Succeeded by Territory of Papua and New Guinea

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, who accepted the territory under the name of Papua.

In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of New Guinea 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 Papua at all times retained a distinct legal status and identity; it was a Possession of the Crown whereas the Territory of New Guinea was initially a League of Nations mandate territory and subsequently a United Nations trust territory. This important legal and political distinction remained until the advent of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea in 1975.

Papua made up roughly half of the current-day Papua New Guinea and contained the territory's capital, Port Moresby, which then became the capital of the independent country.

Archeological evidence suggests that humans arrived on New Guinea at least 60,000 years ago. These Melanesian people developed stone tools and agriculture. Portuguese and Spanish navigators sailing in the South Pacific entered New Guinea waters in the early part of the 16th century and in 1526-27, Don Jorge de Meneses came upon the principal island "Papua". In 1545, the Spaniard Íñigo Ortiz de Retez gave the island the name "New Guinea" owing to what he saw as a resemblance between the islands' inhabitants and those found on the African Guinea coast. Knowledge of the interior of the island remained scant for several centuries after these initial European encounters.