Papua and New Guinea

Papua and New Guinea was made up of two former colonial territories:

1. The UN Trust Territory of New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern quarter of the island of New Guinea. This was formerly the German colony of Schutzgebiet Kaiser-Wilhelmsland und Bismarck-archipel, later called Schutzgebiet Deutsch Neu-Guinea (1884-1921) and thereafter the Society of Nations' Mandated Territory of New Guinea.

2. The Australian External Territory of Papua, consisting of the south-eastern quarter of the island of New Guinea.

In 1883 part of New Guinea was annexed by Queensland. In 1884 a British protectorate was proclaimed and in 1888 it was annexed to the British Crown as British New Guinea. In 1901 it was assigned to the Commonwealth of Australia for five years and in 1906 it was proclaimed a territory of the Commonwealth under the name Papua. Germany took the Territory of New Guinea the same year, headquartered in Rabaul.

During the First World War Australian troops captured New Guinea (the north-east quarter) and administered it under German law until 1921, when the League of Nations mandated it to Australia.

Papua and New Guinea were administered separately until the Second World War when the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) amalgamated the two Territories under military law. After the war the United Nations made New Guinea an Australian Trust Territory, and both came under a common administration called the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, until independence in 1975.

Capital: Canberra (Australia) / Port Moresby

Government: Australian colony and UN trust territory under single administration

Area: 462.840 km²

Population: New Guinea 425.000 (1929) / Papua 276.400 (1929)

Currency: Pound (20 shilling, 1 shilling = 12 pence); from 1966: Australian dollar (100 cent)

For more stamps see:

Papua New Guinea

Links

Territory of Papua (British New Guinea) in Wikipedia.

Territory of New Guinea in Wikipedia.

Flag of Papua and New Guinea (1965-1970) in Flags of the World.

Stamp catalogue

The World United Against Malaria

date: 7 April 1962

designer: -

printer: Note Printing Branch, Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne

perforated: 14

1 5 d campaign emblem

carmine-red, light blue

(cat. Michel 40/SG 33/Yvert 44)

2 1 s campaign emblem

red, sepia

(cat. Michel 41/SG 34/Yvert 45)

3 2 s campaign emblem

black, yellow-green

(cat. Michel 42/SG 35/Yvert 46)

UNO 20th anniversary

date: 13 October 1965

designer: -

printer: Courvoisier

perforated: 11½

4 6 d mother and child, text "UNITED NATIONS"

sepia, blue, pale turquoise blue

(cat. Michel 80/SG 79/Yvert 80)

5 1/- globe, UNO emblem, text "UNITED NATIONS"

orange-brown, blue, deep reddish violet

(cat. Michel 81/SG 80/Yvert 81)

6 2/- four globes, UNO emblem, text "UNITED NATIONS"

blue, blue-green, light yellow-olive

(cat. Michel 82/SG 81/Yvert 82)

International Hydrological Decade

date: 28 June 1967

designer: Graham Wade

printer: Courvoisier

perforated: 12¼:12¾

remark: part of a series of four stamps

7 5 c Laloki River hydro-electric scheme, decade emblem, text "HYDRO POWER / INTERNATIONAL

HYDROLOGICAL DECADE"

multicoloured

(cat. Michel 115/SG 113/Yvert 114)

8 25 c Laloki River hydro-electric scheme, decade emblem, text "HYDRO POWER / INTERNATIONAL

HYDROLOGICAL DECADE"

multicoloured

(cat. Michel 118/SG 116/Yvert 117)

International Year for Human Rights

date: 26 June 1968

designer: George Hamori

printer: Johan Enschede & Zonen, Haarlem

perforated: 14:12¾

remark: part of a series of four stamps

9 5 c Papuan head-dress, human rights emblem, text "HUMAN RIGHTS YEAR"

multicoloured

(cat. Michel 135/SG 133/Yvert 134)

10 10 c globe, human rights emblem, text "HUMAN RIGHTS YEAR"

multicoloured

(cat. Michel 136/SG 134/Yvert 135)

ILO 50th anniversary

date: 24 September 1969

designer: George Hamori

printer: Courvoisier

perforated: 11¾

11 5 c native potter, text "50th ANNIVERSARY OF / THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION"

multicoloured

(cat. Michel 165/SG 164/Yvert 164)

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last revised: 22 September 2008