84-611: Donald Laycock (1936–1988) was an Australian linguist and anthropologist. He is best remembered for his work on the languages of Papua New Guinea . He was a graduate of University of Newcastle , New South Wales, Australia and later worked as a researcher at the University of Adelaide in Anthropology . He undertook his Ph.D. at the Australian National University in linguistics and became one among
168-431: A Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.84/10, ranking it 17th globally out of 172 countries. Mangrove swamps stretch along the coast, and in the inland it is inhabited by nipa palm (Nypa fruticans), and deeper in the inland the sago palm tree inhabits areas in the valleys of larger rivers. Trees such as oaks, red cedars, pines, and beeches are becoming predominant in the uplands above 3,300 feet. Papua New Guinea
252-541: A Royal Australian Navy force arrived off Rabaul with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force and naval troops were landed at Herbertshohe and Kabakaul to search for German radio stations, facing some minor German resistance. Rabaul was occupied, unopposed, on 12 September. The German administration surrendered German New Guinea on 17 September. Australian troops and vessels were subsequently dispatched to occupy Germany's other territories including
336-741: A land bridge , particularly during ice ages when sea levels were lower than at present. As the Indo-Australian Plate (which includes landmasses of India , Australia, and the Indian Ocean floor in between) drifts north, it collides with the Eurasian Plate . The collision of the two plates pushed up the Himalayas , the Indonesian islands, and New Guinea's Central Range . The Central Range is much younger and higher than
420-478: A landslide hit the village of Kaokalam in Enga Province , about 600 kilometers (372 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby , at about 3 a.m. local time. The landslide buried more than 2000 people alive, caused major destruction to buildings, and food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country. The casualty figure surpasses the 2006 Southern Leyte mudslide tragedy where
504-703: A cachet. The monarch is represented by the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea , currently Bob Dadae . Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are unusual among Commonwealth realms in that governors-general are appointed by the Sovereign, the Head of State, upon nomination by the National Parliament, which nomination the Head of State is not obliged to accept. The Prime Minister heads the cabinet , which consists of 31 members of Parliament from
588-443: A chain of earthquakes hit Hela Province , causing widespread landslides and the deaths of 200 people. Various nations from Oceania and Southeast Asia immediately sent aid to the country. Another severe earthquake occurred on 11 September 2022, killing seven people and causing damaging shaking in some of the country's largest cities, such as Lae and Madang , it was also felt in the capital Port Moresby . On May 24, 2024,
672-519: A colony named German New Guinea , while the southern part of the country became a British protectorate . In 1888, the British protectorate, as well as some adjacent islands, were annexed by Britain as British New Guinea. In 1902, Papua was effectively transferred to the authority of the new British dominion of Australia . With the passage of the Papua Act 1905, the area was officially renamed
756-449: A larger language family extending through the middle and upper Sepik valley (the "Sepik subphylum"), and in 1973 he proposed that these languages formed part of a Sepik–Ramu phylum . This remained the general consensus in the linguistic world for over 30 years. While more recent work by William A. Foley and Malcolm Ross has cast doubt on a link between the Ramu – Lower Sepik languages and
840-524: A national election and within 12 months of the next election. In 2012, the first two (of three) readings were passed to prevent votes of no confidence occurring within the first 30 months. This restriction on votes of no confidence has arguably resulted in greater stability, although perhaps at the cost of reducing the accountability of the executive branch of government. Elections in PNG attract numerous candidates. After independence in 1975, members were elected by
924-591: A short curve of the river's thalweg to where it meets the 141°01'10" E meridian flowing west, then southwards to the south coast. The 141° E meridian formed the entire eastern boundary of Dutch New Guinea according to its 1828 annexation proclamation. By the Treaty of The Hague (1895) the Dutch and British agreed to a territorial exchange, bringing the entire left bank of the Fly River into British New Guinea and moving
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#17327912809831008-468: A total of 1,126 people lost their lives as the debris flow from a landslide followed 10 days of heavy rain. With over 2,000 reported dead by the Papua New Guinea government, this disaster has now emerged as the deadliest landslide of the 21st century. The climate on the island is essentially tropical, but it varies by region. The maximum mean temperature in the lowlands is 30 to 32 °C, and
1092-679: Is a megadiverse country . Many of the other islands within PNG territory, including New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, the Admiralty Islands , the Trobriand Islands , and the Louisiade Archipelago , were never linked to New Guinea by land bridges. As a consequence, they have their own flora and fauna; in particular, they lack many of the land mammals and flightless birds that are common to New Guinea and Australia. Australia and New Guinea are portions of
1176-770: Is a full member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the Pacific Community , the Pacific Islands Forum , and the United Nations . Papua is derived from a local term of uncertain origin. Regarding the islands of New Guinea, the Portuguese captain and geographer António Galvão wrote that: The people of all these islands are blacke, and have their haire frisled, whom the people of Maluco do call Papuas. "New Guinea" ( Nueva Guinea )
1260-469: Is famous for its frequent seismic activity, being on the Ring of Fire . On 17 July 1998, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck north of Aitape . It triggered a 50-foot-high tsunami, which killed over 2,180 people in one of the worst natural disasters in the country. In September 2002, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Wewak , Sandaun Province , killing six people. From March to April 2018,
1344-472: Is often the most efficient and reliable means of transportation. The highest peak is Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). Papua New Guinea is surrounded by coral reefs which are under close watch, in the interests of preservation. Papua New Guinea's largest rivers are in New Guinea and include Sepik , Ramu , Markham , Musa , Purari , Kikori , Turama , Wawoi and Fly . The country
1428-400: Is one of the few regions close to the equator that experience snowfall , which occurs in the most elevated parts of the mainland. The border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia was confirmed by a treaty with Australia before independence in 1974. The land border comprises a segment of the 141° E meridian from the north coast southwards to where it meets the Fly River flowing east, then
1512-420: Is part of the humid tropics, and many Indomalayan rainforest plants spread across the narrow straits from Asia, mixing with the old Australian and Antarctic floras. New Guinea has been identified as the world's most floristically diverse island in the world, with 13,634 known species of vascular plants. Papua New Guinea includes several terrestrial ecoregions : Three new species of mammals were discovered in
1596-458: Is rich in various species of reptiles, indigenous freshwater fish and birds, but it is almost devoid of large mammals. Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm with Charles III as King of Papua New Guinea . The constitutional convention , which prepared the draft constitution, and Australia, the outgoing metropolitan power, had thought that Papua New Guinea would not remain a monarchy. The founders, however, considered that imperial honours had
1680-692: Is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire , at the point of collision of several tectonic plates . Geologically, the island of New Guinea is a northern extension of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate , forming part of a single land mass which is Australia-New Guinea (also called Sahul or Meganesia ). It is connected to the Australian segment by a shallow continental shelf across the Torres Strait , which in former ages lay exposed as
1764-753: The Battle of the Coral Sea , the Japanese attempted a landward invasion from the north via the Kokoda Track . From July 1942, a few Australian reserve battalions, many of them very young and untrained, fought a stubborn rearguard action against a Japanese advance along the Kokoda Track , towards Port Moresby, over the rugged Owen Stanley Ranges. Local Papuans, called Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels by the Australians, assisted and escorted injured Australian troops down
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#17327912809831848-781: The Caroline Islands , the Marianas Islands , the Palau Islands ) and Kiautschou in China. German Samoa was assigned to New Zealand; German New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Nauru to Australia as League of Nations Mandates : territories "formerly governed [by the Central Powers] and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of
1932-597: The Denisovans , indicating that the ancestors of Papuans interbred in Asia with these archaic hominins. Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants. A major migration of Austronesian-speaking peoples to coastal regions of New Guinea took place around 500 BC. This has been correlated with
2016-455: The King . There are 840 known languages of Papua New Guinea (including English), making it the most linguistically diverse country in the world. It is also one of the most rural countries, with only 13.25% of its population living in urban centres in 2019. Most of its people live in customary communities . Although government estimates reported the country's population to be 11.8 million, it
2100-481: The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions , a pontifical institute, reestablished the mission on Woodlark Island, encountering sickness and resistance from local people. The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before independence. Beginning in 1884, the region was split between two colonial powers. Germany ruled the northern half of the country for several decades as
2184-656: The Sepik languages , the "Sepik subphylum" seems established as a genuine group. Laycock also first identified the Torricelli (1968) and Piawi groups of languages. He published numerous papers in linguistics and anthropology. He was described by his fellow authors of Skeptical ( David Vernon , Colin Groves and Simon Brown ) as a 20th-century 'Renaissance Man' as his interests were wide-ranging from Melanesian languages, to channelling , Tarot cards and bawdy songs . He
2268-724: The Territory of New Guinea . In contrast to establishing an Australian mandate in former German New Guinea, the League of Nations determined that Papua was an external territory of the Australian Commonwealth; as a matter of law it remained a British possession. The difference in legal status meant that until 1949, Papua (former British protectorate Territory of Papua ) and New Guinea (former German territory German New Guinea ) had entirely separate administrations, both controlled by Australia. These conditions contributed to
2352-759: The dark skin of the inhabitants. Archaeological evidence indicates that humans first arrived in Papua New Guinea around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago. They were descendants of migrants out of Africa , in one of the early waves of human migration. A 2016 study at the University of Cambridge by Christopher Klein et al. suggests that it was about 50,000 years ago that these peoples reached Sahul (the paleocontinent consisting of present-day Australia and New Guinea). The sea levels rose and isolated New Guinea about 10,000 years ago, but Aboriginal Australians and Papuans diverged from each other genetically earlier, about 37,000 years BP. Evolutionary geneticist Svante Pääbo found that people of New Guinea share 4%–7% of their genome with
2436-517: The first-past-the-post system, with winners frequently gaining less than 15% of the vote. Electoral reforms in 2001 introduced the Limited Preferential Vote system (LPV), a version of the alternative vote . The 2007 general election was the first to be conducted using LPV. Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian -administered League of Nations and then United Nations trust territory on
2520-534: The 16th of September 1975 as the date of independence. Whitlam and then- Prince Charles attended the independence ceremony, with Somare continuing as the country's first Prime Minister. A secessionist revolt in 1975–76 on Bougainville Island resulted in an eleventh-hour modification of the draft Constitution of Papua New Guinea to allow for Bougainville and the other eighteen districts to have quasi-federal status as provinces. A renewed uprising on Bougainville started in 1988 and claimed 20,000 lives until it
2604-757: The 1880s between German New Guinea in the North and the British Territory of Papua in the South, all of present-day Papua New Guinea came under Australian control following World War I , with the legally distinct Territory of New Guinea being established out of the former German colony as a League of Nations mandate . The nation was the site of fierce fighting during the New Guinea campaign of World War II . Papua New Guinea became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its Queen. Since Elizabeth II's death in 2022, Charles III has been
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2688-409: The British government proclaimed a protectorate over the southeastern quarter of New Guinea. The protectorate, called British New Guinea , was annexed by Britain outright on 4 September 1888. The territory was transferred to the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia on 18 March 1902, and British New Guinea became the Territory of Papua , with Australian administration beginning in 1906. One of
2772-509: The Buna-Gona area. The bitter Battle of Buna-Gona followed in which Australian and United States forces attacked the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. Facing tropical disease, difficult terrain and well-constructed Japanese defences, the allies finally achieved victory after experiencing heavy casualties. The offensives in Papua and New Guinea of 1943–44 were
2856-731: The Elizabethan mystic John Dee ) was turned by a colleague into one of the very few classics of skeptical linguistics. He died, after a short illness, in Canberra , on 27 December 1988. Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea , is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of
2940-671: The Kokoda track. The militia, worn out and severely depleted by casualties, were relieved in late August by regular troops from the Second Australian Imperial Force, returning from action in the Mediterranean theater . The Japanese on the Kokoda Track were ordered to retreat to the coast so the Japanese could focus their efforts on the Battle of Guadalcanal , and the Australians pursued them back to
3024-552: The League of Nations, Germans could no longer be expelled from the territory of a League of Nations mandate. In the 1930s there were 4,500 foreigners in the Mandate New Guinea, four times more than in Papua, including 1,000 Chinese and 400 Germans. In 1921 gold was found in Wau. A few years later, as a result of the gold rush, gold seekers streamed through the port of Salamaua to Wau. In 1926 another, more productive gold field
3108-598: The New Guinea mainland, New Ireland , the Admiralty Islands , the Western Islands , Bougainville , and the German Solomons . The colony remained under Australian military control until 1921. At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference following the war, Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes sought to secure possession of New Guinea from the defeated German Empire: telling the Conference: "Strategically
3192-582: The Territory of Papua, and the Australian administration became formal in 1906. Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Australian forces captured German New Guinea and occupied it throughout the war. After Germany and the Central Powers were defeated in the war, the League of Nations authorised Australia to administer this area as a League of Nations mandate territory, which became
3276-735: The advent of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea . The initial Australian mandate, entitled the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean situated South of the Equator other than German Samoa and Nauru , was based on the previous German New Guinea , which had been captured and occupied by Australian forces during World War I . Most of the Territory of New Guinea was occupied by Japan during World War II , between 1942 and 1945. During this time, Rabaul , on
3360-690: The ancient supercontinent of Gondwana , which started to break into smaller continents in the Cretaceous period, 65–130 million years ago. Australia finally broke free from Antarctica about 45 million years ago. All the Australasian lands are home to the Antarctic flora , descended from the flora of southern Gondwana, including the coniferous podocarps and Araucaria pines, and the broad-leafed southern beech ( Nothofagus ). These plant families are still present in Papua New Guinea. New Guinea
3444-412: The battles for New Britain and New Ireland in the Territory of New Guinea in 1942. Rabaul , the capital of the Territory was overwhelmed on 22–23 January and was established as a major Japanese base from whence they landed on mainland New Guinea and advanced towards Port Moresby and Australia. Having had their initial effort to capture Port Moresby by a seaborne invasion disrupted by the U.S. Navy in
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3528-641: The cash economy. Their traditional social groupings are explicitly acknowledged by the Papua New Guinea Constitution , which expresses the wish for "traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society" and protects their continuing importance to local and national community life. Papua New Guinea has been an observer state in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) since 1976, and has filed its application for full membership status. It
3612-500: The complexity of organising the country's post-independence legal system. The highland valleys were first explored by Australians in the 1930s and were found to be inhabited by over a million people. During World War II , the New Guinea campaign (1942–1945) was one of the major military campaigns and conflicts between Japan and the Allies . Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian, and U.S. servicemen died. After World War II and
3696-490: The country is the eastern half of New Guinea island, where the largest towns are also located, including Port Moresby (capital) and Lae ; other major islands within Papua New Guinea include New Ireland , New Britain , Manus and Bougainville . Located north of the Australian mainland, the country's geography is diverse and, in places, extremely rugged. A spine of mountains, the New Guinea Highlands , runs
3780-478: The end of 1942. Shortly after the start of the Pacific War , New Guinea was invaded by the Japanese. Most of West Papua , at that time known as Dutch New Guinea , was occupied, as were large parts of the Territory of New Guinea but the Territory of Papua was protected to a large extent by its southern location and the near-impassable Owen Stanley Ranges to the north. The New Guinea campaign opened with
3864-537: The eruptions of the volcano Mount Tavurvur and its neighbouring summit Matupit on the Vulcan Island on May 29, 1937, led to extensive destruction of the infrastructure and made the city almost uninhabitable. The seat of the administration of the territory was moved to Lae on the island of New Guinea. When Lae was destroyed by a Japanese air raid on January 20, 1942, Administrator McNicoll moved the administration to Wau. McNicoll contracted malaria and had to resign at
3948-660: The first Papua New Guinean Chief Minister of the Territory. In December, Whitlam was elected as Prime Minister at the 1972 Australian federal election . The Whitlam Government then instituted self-governance under the rule of Somare in late 1973. Over the next two years, further arguments for independence were forwarded, culminating in the Whitlam Government passing the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 in September 1975, citing
4032-607: The first actions of Australia's armed forces during World War I was the seizure by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force of German New Guinea and the neighbouring islands of the Bismarck Archipelago in October 1914. Germany administered several territories in the south and central Pacific which the British requested be captured by Australian and New Zealand forces. On 11 September 1914,
4116-534: The first administrator of this new council. In 1964, the Council was replaced by the 64-member House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea , which for the first time had a majority of Papua New Guinean members. The Assembly increased to 84 members in 1967 and 100 by 1971. Debate began over Australian administration both in Papua New Guinea and Australia, with the Bougainville independence movement pushing for greater autonomy as Australian mining company Rio Tinto 's exploitative practices became extremely controversial to
4200-461: The forests of Papua New Guinea by an Australian-led expedition in the early 2010s. A small wallaby, a large-eared mouse and a shrew-like marsupial were discovered. The expedition was also successful in capturing photographs and video footage of some other rare animals such as the Tenkile tree kangaroo and the Weimang tree kangaroo. Nearly one-quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests were damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002. Papua New Guinea had
4284-430: The former German colony, which occurred during the tenure of Governor Albert Hahl, stagnated because of the expropriations. Around 268 plantations, 20 larger shops, workshops and operating facilities were sold to new owners. Many of the new plantation owners, often former Australian soldiers, had little experience of farming in tropical climates. Originally, the German missionaries should also be expelled. However, through
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#17327912809834368-439: The influence of American and Australian Lutherans, the Neuendettelsau missionaries were able to continue their work and were allowed to travel to New Guinea again from 1928. The Steyler missionaries and the Steyler Missionary Sisters were also affected by the planned deportation. The Apostolic Delegate in Australia, Archbishop Bartolomeo Cattaneo (1866–1933), advocated the whereabouts of the German-speaking Catholic missionaries, from
4452-420: The introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques. In the 18th century, traders brought the sweet potato to New Guinea, where it was adopted and became a staple food . Portuguese traders had obtained it from South America and introduced it to the Moluccas . The far higher crop yields from sweet potato radically transformed traditional agriculture and societies. Sweet potato largely supplanted
4536-406: The island of New Britain , became a major Japanese base (see New Guinea campaign ). After World War II, the territories of Papua and New Guinea were combined in an administrative union under the Papua New Guinea Provisional Administration Act (1945–46). In 1884, Germany formally took possession of the northeast quarter of New Guinea and it became known as German New Guinea . In the same year,
4620-423: 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
4704-594: The island until the 19th century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers, such as Dom Jorge de Menezes and Yñigo Ortiz de Retez , had encountered it as early as the 16th century. Traders from Southeast Asia visited New Guinea beginning 5,000 years ago to collect bird-of-paradise plumes. Christianity was introduced to New Guinea on 15 September 1847 when a group of Marist missionaries came to Woodlark Island . They established their first mission on Umboi Island . Following that year, they were forced to withdraw their mission endeavour. Five years later on 8 October 1852,
4788-421: The island's long houses, a demonstration of past practices. According to Marianna Torgovnick, writing in 1991, "The most fully documented instances of cannibalism as a social institution come from New Guinea, where head-hunting and ritual cannibalism survived, in certain isolated areas, into the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies, and still leave traces within certain social groups." Little was known in Europe about
4872-436: The largely Australian force and the Japanese 18th Army based in New Guinea until the Surrender of Japan to end the war on 2 September 1945. The New Guinea campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War. In all, some 200,000 Japanese soldiers, sailors and airmen died during the campaign against approximately 7,000 Australian and 7,000 American service personnel. After the war, civil administration of Papua and of New Guinea
4956-428: The leading authorities on the languages of Papua New Guinea. He performed several pioneering surveys of the languages of the Sepik region of New Guinea . The first of these, his Ph.D. research under the supervision of Stephen Wurm , was published as The Ndu languages (1965), and established the existence of this closely related group of languages. In subsequent surveys, Laycock found the Ndu languages were part of
5040-458: The length of the island of New Guinea , forming a populous highlands region mostly covered with tropical rainforest , and the long Papuan Peninsula , known as the 'Bird's Tail'. Dense rainforests can be found in the lowland and coastal areas as well as very large wetland areas surrounding the Sepik and Fly rivers. This terrain has made it difficult for the country to develop transportation infrastructure. This has made it so that air travel
5124-533: The minimum 23–24 °C. In the highlands above 2100 metres, colder conditions prevail and night frosts are common there, while the daytime temperature exceeds 22 °C, regardless of the season. Many species of birds and mammals found on New Guinea have close genetic links with corresponding species found in Australia. One notable feature in common for the two landmasses is the existence of several species of marsupial mammals , including some kangaroos and possums , which are not found elsewhere. Papua New Guinea
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#17327912809835208-456: The modern world". Article 22 said: There are territories, such as South-West Africa and certain of the South Pacific Islands, which, owing to the sparseness of their population, or their small size, or their remoteness from the centres of civilisation, or their geographical contiguity to the territory of the Mandatory, and other circumstances, can be best administered under the laws of the Mandatory as integral portions of its territory, subject to
5292-435: The mountains of Australia, so high that it is home to rare equatorial glaciers . There are several active volcanoes , and eruptions are frequent. Earthquakes are relatively common, sometimes accompanied by tsunamis . On 25 February 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 and depth of 35 kilometres struck the middle of Papua New Guinea. The worst of the damage was centred around the Southern Highlands region. Papua New Guinea
5376-401: The northern islands (such as New Guinea) encompass Australia like fortresses. They are as necessary to Australia as water to a city." Article 22 of the Treaty of Versailles provided for the division of Germany and the Central Powers ' imperial possessions among the victorious Allies of World War I . In the Pacific, Japan gained Germany's islands north of the equator (the Marshall Islands ,
5460-506: The orders of the Sacred Heart Missionaries (MSC), Marists (SM) and the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) ), who held this post in Australia from 1917 to 1933. The Archbishops of Sydney and New York also appealed to the Australian and American governments, asking that the deportation plans be withdrawn. To this day, German missionaries from the Protestant Neuendettelsauer Mission and the Catholic Sacred Heart of Jesus and Steyler missionaries work in Papua New Guinea. From 1926, after Germany joined
5544-446: The outbreak of the Pacific War and Japanese invasion in December 1941 brought about its suspension. The first civilian administrator, Brigadier-General Evan Wisdom , made Rabaul on the island of New Britain the capital of the Australian Mandate New Guinea. The German settlers in the territory of New Guinea were expropriated from 1921 and expelled to Germany, only a few Germans were allowed to stay. The dynamic economic development of
5628-414: The previous national election. In the early years of independence, the instability of the party system led to frequent votes of no confidence in parliament, with resulting changes of the government, but with referral to the electorate, through national elections only occurring every five years. In recent years, successive governments have passed legislation preventing such votes sooner than 18 months after
5712-447: The previous staple, taro , and resulted in a significant increase in population in the highlands. Although by the late 20th century headhunting and cannibalism had been practically eradicated, in the past they were practised in many parts of the country as part of rituals related to warfare and taking in enemy spirits or powers. In 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua , missionary Harry Dauncey found 10,000 skulls in
5796-408: The region's indigenous landowners, with demands for compensation being made. Australian Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam visited Papua New Guinea in 1970 and 1971, amid further calls for independence by the Tolai people in Gazelle Peninsula . He called for self-governance for the Territory as early as 1972. At the 1972 Papua New Guinean general election in July, Michael Somare was elected as
5880-412: The ruling coalition, which makes up the government. The current prime minister is James Marape . The unicameral National Parliament has 111 seats, of which 22 are occupied by the governors of the 22 provinces and the National Capital District . Candidates for members of parliament are voted upon when the prime minister asks the governor-general to call a national election, a maximum of five years after
5964-408: The safeguards above mentioned in the interests of the indigenous population. The British Government, on behalf of Australia, assumed a mandate from the League of Nations for governing the Territory on 17 December 1920. The terms of the mandate were not received in Australia until April 1921. This mandate was enacted and administered by the Australian Government through the New Guinea Act 1920 until
6048-563: The single largest series of connected operations ever mounted by the Australian armed forces. The Supreme Commander of operations was the United States General Douglas Macarthur , with Australian General Thomas Blamey taking a direct role in planning and operations being essentially directed by staff at New Guinea Force headquarters in Port Moresby. Bitter fighting continued in New Guinea between
6132-540: The southern border east to the Torasi Estuary . The maritime boundary with Australia was confirmed by a treaty in 1978. In the Torres Strait it runs close to the mainland of New Guinea, keeping the adjacent North Western Torres Strait Islands ( Dauan , Boigu and Saibai ) under Australian sovereignty. Maritime boundaries with the Solomon Islands were confirmed by a 1989 treaty . Papua New Guinea
6216-408: The southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia ). It shares its only land border with Indonesia to the west and its other close neighbours are Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, located on its southern coast, is Port Moresby . The country is the world's third largest island country , with an area of 462,840 km (178,700 sq mi). Split in
6300-507: The third-largest island country . Papua New Guinea is part of the Australasian realm , which also includes Australia , New Zealand , eastern Indonesia , and several Pacific island groups, including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu . Including all its islands, it lies between latitudes 0° and 12°S , and longitudes 140° and 160°E . It has an exclusive economic zone of 2,402,288 km (927,529 sq mi). The mainland of
6384-550: The victory of the Allies, the two territories were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea . This was later referred to as "Papua New Guinea." After World War II, Australia administered the two newly combined territories of Papua and New Guinea. By 1951, a 28-member Legislative Council was instituted, although this was largely dominated by Australian administrative members, with only 3 seats allocated to Papua New Guineans. Sir Donald Cleland , an Australian soldier, became
6468-769: Was a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA), Vice President of the Australian Linguistic Society (ALS) and a member of Mensa . A keen member of the Australian Skeptics he entertained many people at Skeptic's conventions with his demonstrations of glossolalia and going into trances. After his death, Laycock's meticulous work on the Enochian 'language' (which was allegedly channelled to an associate of
6552-491: Was a choice between greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea and full independence for Bougainville, and voters voted overwhelmingly (98.31%) for independence. Negotiations between the Bougainville government and national Papua New Guinea on a path to Bougainville independence began after the referendum, and are ongoing. At 462,840 km (178,704 sq mi), Papua New Guinea is the world's 54th-largest country and
6636-544: Was found on Edie Creek near Wau. Since there were no roads yet and the transport over mountain paths was very laborious for the gold prospectors, it was necessary to fly in the heavy equipment. In 1937 and 1938, Bulolo Gold Dredging & Co and Guinea Airways moved more air freight with four Junkers G 31 cargo planes between Lae and Wau than in the rest of the world combined. Wisdom was replaced on June 13, 1933, by Brigadier General Thomas Griffiths. Brigadier General Walter Ramsay McNicoll followed on September 13, 1934. In Rabaul,
6720-566: Was reported in December 2022 that its population was in fact closer to 17 million. Papua New Guinea is the most populous Pacific island country. The country is believed to be the home of many undocumented species of plants and animals. Papua New Guinea is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund ; nearly 40% of the population are subsistence farmers , living relatively independently of
6804-628: Was resolved in 1997. Bougainville had been the primary mining region of the country, generating 40% of the national budget. The native peoples felt they were bearing the adverse environmental effects of the mining, which contaminated the land, water and air, without gaining a fair share of the profits. The government and rebels negotiated a peace agreement that established the Bougainville Autonomous District and Province. The autonomous Bougainville elected Joseph Kabui as president in 2005, who served until he died in 2008. He
6888-539: Was restored, and under the Papua New Guinea Provisional Administration Act, 1945–46, Papua and New Guinea were combined in a new administrative union. The Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 united the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea as the Territory of Papua and New Guinea . However, for the purposes of Australian nationality a distinction was maintained between the two territories. The act provided for
6972-412: Was succeeded by his deputy John Tabinaman as acting president while an election to fill the unexpired term was organised. James Tanis won that election in December 2008 and served until the inauguration of John Momis, the winner of the 2010 elections. As part of the current peace settlement, a non-binding independence referendum was held, between 23 November and 7 December 2019. The referendum question
7056-579: Was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez . In 1545, he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. Guinea, in its turn, is etymologically derived from the Portuguese word Guiné . The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies , ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to
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