When was papua new guinea found

In Germany annexed the northern coast 'New Guinea' and Britain annexed the southern regions 'Papua'. In they became one - Papua New Guinea - and achieved independence in Four hundred years earlier, these highlands and islands in the western Pacific between the equator and 10 degrees south, reminded Spanish explorer de Doda of Africa's Guinea coast.

Setting a pattern for all 'discoverers' of Melanesia he gave the archipelago a foreign, second-hand name, New Guinea. By the s Dutch skippers were trading round the coast from what is now Indonesia and unscrupulous blackbirders were transporting kanaka slaves to Queensland and Fiji.

Some 20, were taken until , when the trade was stopped. After a 'divide and swap' deal in , the northern highlands and islands became the German colony of New Guinea while southern, largely coastal, Papua was declared a British Protectorate. To mark the accession, Sir William McGgregor and his bagpiper climbed, claimed and named the metre Mount Victoria. The skirl of the pipes is still heard today when the PNG Police are on parade.

The Secretariat worked with Papua New Guinea to manage income from its natural resources. It helped the country learn about laws, policies, contracts and taxation in this area. The Connectivity Agenda is a platform for countries to exchange best practices and experiences to trade and investment and undertake domestic reform.

Site search. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our website, to analyze our website traffic, and to understand where our visitors are coming from. You can find out more information on our Privacy Page. Human occupation Earliest evidence of human occupation in PNG dates back 50, years. Our relationship PNG and New Zealand have a long-standing and strong friendship, driven by our shared geography and history, our people-to-people connections, as well as our common interests in the region and beyond.

Natural resources PNG has a large resource base and its economy is heavily reliant on natural resources and the extractive sector. On November 6, , a British protectorate was proclaimed over the southern coast of New Guinea the area called Papua and its adjacent islands. The protectorate, called British New Guinea, was annexed outright on September 4, The possession was placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia in Papua was administered under the Papua Act until World War II, when Japanese forces invaded the northern parts of the islands in and began to advance on Port Moresby, suspending civil administration.

During the war, Papua was governed by a military administration from Port Moresby, where Gen. Douglas MacArthur occasionally made his headquarters. As noted, it was later joined in an administrative union with New Guinea during following the surrender of Japan, and Papua New Guinea was born.

Michael Leahy was an Australian prospector from rural Queensland who is known for making first contact with our highlands people in Papua New Guinea in Leahy and his brother Dan looked for gold and explored in the highlands for four years together with Patrol Officer James Taylor.

During his time here, Leahy documented his expedition in a daily journal and also captured an amazing series of photographs that were later discovered in by Australian writers and filmmakers Bob Connolly and Robyn Anderson. These two went on to make the award winning documentary, First Contact.

Papua, by contrast, was deemed to be an External Territory of the Australian Commonwealth, though as a matter of law it remained a British possession, an issue that had significance for the country's post-Independence legal system after