31-514: Manus Province is the smallest province in Papua New Guinea in terms of both land area and population, with a land area of 2,100 square kilometres (810 sq mi), but with more than 220,000 square kilometres (85,000 sq mi) of water, and the total population is 60,485 (2011 census). The provincial town of Manus is Lorengau . The province consists of only one district (Manus District; with identical boundaries to those of
62-411: A broader scale, PNG is divided into four regions. The regions are significant in daily life and are often the basis for the organisation of government services, corporate operations, sporting competitions, and even the machinations of politics. For instance, there has been much discussion over the years of how many Prime Ministers have come from each region, and whether a particular region is due to provide
93-680: 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 and German New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Nauru were assigned 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
124-572: A public service, and a system of local government. The House of Assembly replaced the Legislative Council in 1963, and the first House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea opened on 8 June 1964. In 1963, the population was approximately two million, of which about 25,000 were non-indigenous. The economy was based on cash crops including coffee , cocoa , and copra as well as timber mills, wharves and factories. Difficult terrain rendered communication between districts difficult and there
155-615: Is divided into administrative divisions called provinces. There are 22 provincial-level divisions, which include 20 provinces , the Autonomous Region of Bougainville , and the National Capital District of Port Moresby . In 2009, the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea created two additional provinces, that officially came into being on 17 May 2012. They were Hela Province , which
186-629: The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea . The province and each district is represented by a Member of the National Parliament . There is one provincial electorate and each district is an open electorate. Job Pomat as Manus District Open Member, elected into office in 2016, made history as the first politician from the province to be elected as the Speaker of the Parliament of Papua New Guinea in 2016. Provinces of Papua New Guinea For administrative purposes, Papua New Guinea
217-528: The Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea as the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. The Act formally approved the placing of New Guinea under the international trusteeship system and confirmed the administrative union of New Guinea and Papua under the title of The Territory of Papua and New Guinea. It also provided for a Legislative Council (which was established in 1951), a judicial system,
248-470: The Constitution, using the prescribed amending formula. In May 2012, two new provinces were established: Hela Province was split from Southern Highlands Province and Jiwaka Province from Western Highlands Province . For administrative purposes, Papua New Guinea is divided into four regions and also into 22 provinces, as follows (they are numbered according to the map on the top right): On
279-739: The Japanese 18th Army based in New Guinea until the Japanese surrender in 1945. Following the Surrender of Japan in 1945, civil administration of Papua and New Guinea was restored, and under the Papua New Guinea Provisional Administration Act (1945–46), Papua and New Guinea were combined in an administrative union. The Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 united, for administrative purposes only,
310-723: The South Pacific entered New Guinea waters in the early part of the 16th century and in 1526–27, Jorge de Menezes came upon the principal island "Papua". In 1545, the Spaniard Iñigo Ortiz de Retes gave the island the name "New Guinea" because of 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. In 1884, Germany formally took possession of
341-478: The United States, whose federal governments are creatures of the provinces or states, but as with the provinces and states of Pakistan and India, the provinces are creatures of the central government and can be suspended by it or have their boundaries changed. Indeed, there have been suspensions of several provincial governments to address corruption or incompetence by elected provincial governments. Changes in
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#1732776877710372-510: The blue represents the island people. The other important symbol on the flag is the green snail, which is unique to Manus Province. Manus Province has a single district, which contains one urban ( Lorengau ) and eleven rural Local Level Government (LLG) areas. Manus District has the highest number of LLGs of any other district in Papua New Guinea . For census purposes, the LLG areas are subdivided into wards and those into census units. The province
403-622: The boundaries of those provinces which are adjacent to the former boundary between the Territories of Papua and New Guinea can cause special complications in the administration of statutes that apply in Papua or New Guinea but not both. Ultimately in June 1995, in an effort to re-assert a measure of control by the central government over the often wayward provinces in an environment of limited numbers of personnel qualified for public office in many of
434-570: The campaign against approximately 7,000 Australian and 7,000 American service personnel. Major battles included the Battle of Kokoda Trail , Battle of Buna-Gona and Battle of Milne Bay . The offensives in Papua and New Guinea of 1943–44 were the single largest series of connected operations ever mounted by the Australian armed forces. Bitter fighting continued in New Guinea between the Allies and
465-416: The central government very quickly responded by offering provincial status to Bougainville. For the sake of consistency, as there were or had been regional separatist movements in Papua and East New Britain , provincial status was offered to the other 18 Districts as well. Bougainville continues to be a special case. A renewed secession movement emerged in 1988 and resulted in a violent military campaign on
496-516: The chauka, is represented on the Manus provincial flag. The designer of the Manus Province flag Luke Bulei explained his reasons for its design in 1977: chauka is only found in the Manus province; it heralds dawn and signals sunset. NBC Radio Station had changed its name to Maus Bilong Chauka several years earlier. Bulei explained that the colour brown on the flag represents the inland people and
527-592: The conflict in Bougainville. The Bougainville secessionists came to terms with the central government in 1997. A constitution was drafted for a more autonomous regional polity within Papua New Guinea with its own president and provisions for a referendum on total autonomy in due course. Until 1995, the provinces had elected provincial assemblies and cabinets led by premiers; however, the country remained unitary, not federal. Unlike Canada, Australia, and
558-504: The governorship passes to an open member of the province. Immediately before independence on 16 September 1975, Papua New Guinea was divided into nineteen provinces and the National Capital District. These provinces corresponded to the "Districts" of the pre-Independence administration of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea . It had been considered that an independent state with limited resources could ill afford
589-546: The infrastructure of a two-level quasi-federal governmental structure. However, a secessionist movement in Bougainville, whose copper mine provided the largest single source of foreign exchange and whose contribution to the general revenue was crucial to the independent state's economic viability, forced the issue. The Bougainville secession movement declared the Republic of the North Solomons on 1 September 1975 and
620-481: The island, the closing of the Bougainville Copper Mine with serious financial consequences for the central government, the destruction or running-down of most infrastructure on the island and, ultimately, the total quarantining of the province for a decade. The Sandline affair of 1997 was a political scandal that became one of the defining moments in Papua New Guinea's history, particularly that of
651-501: The name of the territory was changed to Papua New Guinea. Under Australian Minister for External Territories Andrew Peacock , the territory adopted self-government in 1972. 1972 elections saw the formation of a ministry headed by Chief Minister Michael Somare , who pledged to lead PNG to self-government and then to independence. Following the passage of the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 , during
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#1732776877710682-660: The neighbouring islands of the Bismarck Archipelago for the Allies in 1914, during the early stages of the First World War . 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 the northern islands (such as New Guinea) encompass Australia like fortresses. They are as necessary to Australia as water to
713-499: The next one. Ministers and departmental heads are often appointed to maintain an overall balance between the regions. People generally identify quite strongly with their region, and inter-region rivalries can be intense. The four regions are: Territory of Papua and New Guinea The Territory of Papua and New Guinea , officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea ,
744-622: The northeast quarter of the island and it became known as German New Guinea . In 1884, a British protectorate was proclaimed over Papua – the southern coast of New Guinea. The protectorate, called British New Guinea , was annexed outright on 4 September 1888 and possession passed to the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia in 1902 and British New Guinea became the Australian Territory of Papua , with Australian administration beginning in 1906. The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force seized German New Guinea and
775-605: The province), 12 Local Level Governments (LLGs) and 127 Wards . The province is made up of the Admiralty Islands (a group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago ), as well as Wuvulu Island and nearby atolls in the west, which collectively are referred to as the Western Islands . The largest island in the group is Manus Island , where Lorengau and a former Australian immigration detention centre are located. The Manus friarbird , known locally as
806-555: The provinces, the office of the provincial premier was abolished and the regional (at-large) members of Parliament became provincial governors, while also retaining their seats in Parliament. Several provincial governments have adopted a local name for their province. For example, Bougainville became North Solomons, Western became Fly River, Chimbu became Simbu, Northern became Oro, and West Sepik became Sandaun. Though these names are accorded popular acceptance, they remain unofficial, as formal changes in province names require amendments to
837-536: The strenuous conditions of the modern world". Shortly after the start of the Pacific War , the island of 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. The New Guinea campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War. In all, some 200,000 Japanese soldiers, sailors and airmen died during
868-620: Was a lack of national unity in the territory. One of the ways in which the territory was administered was through the use of patrol officers. Between 1949 and 1974, more than 2000 Australians served as patrol officers, known locally as " kiaps ". The job of patrol officers involved: facilitating the consolidation of administrative influence, maintaining the rule of law, conducting court cases and presiding as Magistrate, carrying out police work, conducting censuses, encouraging economic development, providing escorts, purchasing land for governmental use and overseeing local elections. On 13 December 1971
899-698: Was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New Guinea (the latter being a United Nations trust territory administered by Australia) 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 . Archeological evidence suggests that humans arrived on New Guinea around 50,000 years ago. These Melanesian people developed stone tools and agriculture. Portuguese and Spanish navigators sailing in
930-468: Was governed by a decentralised provincial administration, headed by a Premier, from 1977 to 1995. Following reforms taking effect that year, notably the introduction of the Organic Law on Provincial Government and Local Level Government 1995, the national government reassumed some powers, and the role of Premier was replaced by a position of Governor, to be held by the winner of the province-wide seat in
961-455: Was split from Southern Highlands Province , and Jiwaka Province , which was split from Western Highlands Province . Each province forms a provincial electorate, called a constituency, for the PNG national parliament . The 22 provincial members are chosen from single-member electorates. Each provincial member becomes governor of their province unless they take a ministerial position, in which case