Territory of New Guinea

Territory Of New Guinea

The Trust Territory of New Guinea was a League of Nations-mandated territory that consisted of the north-eastern part of the island of New Guinea and a number of outlying islands. It was wholly controlled by Australia between 1920–1942 and 1945–1949 and mostly occupied by Japan during World War II, between 1942 and 1945. During this time, Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, became a major Japanese base (see New Guinea campaign).

The south-eastern part of the island of New Guinea was a separate Australian colony, the Territory of Papua, until 1949.

The Australian mandate was based on the previous German New Guinea, which had been captured and occupied by Australian forces during World War I. 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).