How Australia Got Papua
pp. 28-30 · Read in the full issue
And How Gladstone Forced Australia to Surrender North-east New Guinea to Germany
With all Western Pacific Territories temporarily facing new conditions, the story of how there came to be a British and a German New Guinea may again he told. The following article was written in 1938 for the “PIM ” by Captain A.
Middenway, since deceased. r WARDS the end of 1882, the British Colonial Office was perturbed by fresh rumours of Germany’s contemplated colonisation in New Guinea, and a renewal of the Australian colonies’ periodical requests for the annexation of New Guinea (which began somewhere about 1867).
Queensland, particularly, was genuinely alarmed; and, in February, 1883, the Premier, Sir Thomas Mcllwraith, cabled advising annexation as a matter of urgency, on the following grounds: (1) The safety of the commercial highway through Torres Strait; (2) The necessity for jurisdiction over the whites in New Guinea: (3) The fact that a coaling station had already been established; (4) Fear of foreign acquisition.
When the matter was brought before the Colonial Office, Lord Derby, Secretary of State for the Colonies, sought assurance that public opinion in the colony of Queensland was likely to sanetion the step, by a vote of Parliament.
Prom the number of despatches that arrived he soon realised that the colonies considered the matter of vital importance.
Simultaneously, the acquisition of New Guinea was openly discussed in Germany. The British Minister at Brussels advised the Foreign Office of a reported
proposal to form a company to make a scientific exploration of the country and gradually to take possession of it as a commercial colony . . . . . , . „ Official m Q ulrie s were made in Berlin.
The British Ambassador was informed that the venture was quite a private one, not yet supported by the Imperial Ger man Government; and this was accepted by Foreign Office. ottf'F'ivqt atvfi aimmitypsh
Queensland Annexes.
ItyTE AN WHILE, public meetings were ItJ. held in all the colonies, and resolu tions were passed demanding Im perial action. Despatches were for warded to London.
But before these had reached their destination, Queensland, on her own responsibility, on the grounds of urgency, took formal possession of the eastern portion of New Guinea, On April 14, 1883, news of Queens land’s action reached Lord Derby. He cabled for confirmation, and received the following reply from Sir A. E. Kennedy, Governor of Queensland: — “To prevent foreign powers from tak ing possession of New Guinea, Queens land Government, through Police Magis trate Thursday Island, took formal pos session in Her Majesty’s name on the 4th inst., pending your decision on my despatch this mail.”
In his despatch, Sir A. E. Kennedy informed Lord Derby that he was entirely satisfied with the action of his Government, which he considered rea sonable and justifiable. The colonies cohcurred.
The “Brisbane Courier”, commenting on the matter at the time, said: “If the Queensland Parliament supports the action of Sir Thomas Mcllwraith, it is * n °t likely that the Home Government will order the flag, once hoisted, to be hauled down, and the beginning of the occupation made at Port Moresby to be stopped short. We think Lord Derby will scarcely venture to repudiate.”
Lord Derby asked what specific infor mation had led the Government to sup pose that foreign intervention was imminent; and, in reply, he was told that there were general rumours, and a special rumour that the German cor vette “Carola” was leaving Sydney for the South Seas with the object of annexation. The “Carola” actually left on March 18, 1883.
Britain Repudiates'
BEFORE repudiating the annexation, Lord Derby again caused inquiries to be made through the Foreign Office, to assure himself that no foreign power meditated intervention in the ter ritory that had been annexed. He was informed that the Foreign Office “had reason to believe that no such action is intended on the part of any foreign power.”
On July 11, 1883—three months after the annexation—Lord Derby wrote:— “Her Majesty’s Government are unable to approve the procedure of your Gov ernment in this matter ... it is well understood that the officers of a Colo nial Government have no power or authority to act beyond the limits of their colony and, if this constitutional principle is not carefully observed, seri ous difficulties and complications must arise.
“If there had been any evidence of the intention of a foreign power to take pos session of any part of New Guinea, the views and proposals of the Colonial Gov ernment could have been placed before Her Majesty’s Government by tele graph; and, if the circumstances had justified immediate action, it could have been taken without a delay of more than a very few hours.
“It is therefore much to be regretted that your advisers should, without appar ent necessity, have taken on themselves the exercise of powers which they did not possess.”
He also said that the apprehension of foreign action was “altogether indefinite and unfounded”, and that the Imperial Government “had the strongest reasons
for believing that no such step was con templated”.
Typically British—doing too little, too late!
The Colonies Insist
CONSIDERABLE disappointment and
annoyance were displayed in Aus tralia. Sir Thomas Mcllwraith replied fully to the despatch, pointing out that “if the Imperial Government eventually annexes, not only is no advan tage to be gained by postponement but, in the meantime, the course which is now open and clear will have become beset with difficulties, and our lost opportunities will have to be recovered at a much greater cost than would be incurred if we were to avail ourselves of them without delay.”
The repudiation of the annexation was directly responsible for the Inter-colonial Convention held at the close of the year 1883—a conference at which the seeds of Australia’s Federation were sown.
The Convention was attended by the Premiers of all Australian States, with supporting Ministers. It was supported by New Zealand and Fiji.
“The annexation of New Guinea was the main subject of discussion. The Con vention considered it essential to the future well-being of Australia that East ern New Guinea and the Western Paci fic Islands, from the Equator to the New Hebrides, should not fall into the hands of any Western European Power. A resolution was passed urging that “such steps should be immediately taken as will most conveniently and effectively secure the incorporation within the British Empire of so much of New Guinea and the small islands adjacent as is not claimed by the Government of the Netherlands”.
The resolutions were passed on Decem ber 4. 1883, and cabled to London imme diately.
The Convention considered that “in view of the foregoing resolutions and of the many questions of pressing import ance in which the Colonies were of one mind, but unable to obtain united action owing to the absence of some common authority, the time has now arrived for the drawing closer of the ties which bind the Colonies to each other by the establishment of a Federal Union”.
Whitehall’S Troubles
IN May, 1884, Lord Derby intimated, in a circular despatch to the Colonies, the intention of the British Gov ernment to set up some form of juris diction in New Guinea. At that time, there was no mention of any move hav ing been made by Germany; but, at a later stage, Germany claimed to have announced to Lord Granville, in a com munication which the British Govern ment denied receiving, her intention of developing New Guinea.
On August 8, 1884, the German Ambas sador in London informed Lord Gran ville of Germany’s intention of establish ing herself in New Guinea.
The Colonies were not consulted dur ing the negotiations between Germany and the British Government, and an undertaking was given to Germany with out any reference to the Colonial Gov ernments.
That the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office were separated by diverse interests is revealed in “The Life of Earl Granville”, by Lord Fitzmaurice.
From this we learn that Lord Derby was anxious to take immediate steps to acquire New Guinea; while, on the other hand, Lord Granville was anxious not to offend Germany.
Lord Derby intended to assume a pro tectorate over all the coast of the island
of New Guinea not in possession of the Dutch, with the exception of that part of the north coast between 145.3 E.
Longitude (which would be in the vicin ity of Madang) and the Dutch boundary.
The proclamation was approved by Cabinet, but the Foreign Office inter vened. In a letter to Mr. Gladstone, dated September 30, 1884, Lord Granville wrote: — “A very awkward question has arisen.
You remember the discussion of the Cabinet, upon which the despatch to Berlin was founded, on the subject of New Guinea. The Germans had pre viously admitted our right to the south side of the island, opposite Australia.
The Colonial Office thought it necessary that we should have more, and should take some of the north of the island.
Lord Derby would have liked to issue a proclamation previous to giving any opinion of our intentions to Germany.
He yielded to the opinion of Northbrook, of Lyons and myself that we could only do so if we wished to quarrel with Ger many.”
The proclamation was postponed and the warship which was to have pro claimed the Protectorate was delayed by telegraphic orders.
On November 6, 1884, Commodore Erskine proclaimed a protectorate—but over only the south-east coast of New Guinea and the adjacent islands.
The difficulty of the situation lay in the fact that, in order to conciliate Ger many in New Guinea and the neigh bouring seas, it was necessary to run the risk of flouting British Colonial requests.
Mr. Gladstone Decides
MR. Gladstone dominated the situa tion. He saw that a choice had to be made, and recognised that the continued hostility of Germany was a danger greater than that of the irrita tion of the Australian colonists about New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. On March 6, 1885, he wrote to Lord Gran ville: — “A word by way of postscript to my note of yesterday, in which I conveyed to you that, according to Herbert Bis mark, there is and could be no quarrel about Egypt, if colonial matters are amicably settled. Now I do hope that you are pressing forward the ‘Pauncefote’ settlement of the north coast of New Guinea, which seems to me the main or only point remaining. It is really impossible to exaggerate the importance of getting out of the way the bar to Egyptian settlement.”
On April 25. 1885, Lord Granville sug gested a specific line which gave an area of 67,000 square miles of New Guinea to Germany, and 63,000 square miles (now Papua) to Great Britain. This Ger many readily accepted, and the New
Guinea dispute ended as far as England and Germany were concerned.
Thus, Britain got the south-eastern part of New Guinea, instead of the east ern half of the great island, as origin ally demanded by Australia.
General Sir Peter Scratchley was appointed Special Commissioner for the new Protectorate (called British New Guinea), but he died there, from malaria, in November, 1885, soon after arrival.
The position was taken over by John Douglas, formerly a Queensland Premier.
Dr. (afterwards Sir) William MacGregor was Administrator in 1888, and he form ally annexed the Protectorate to the British Crown on September 4. 1888. In 1901. after the Commonwealth was formed, it was formally taken over for five years as Australian Territory; and the arrangement was made permanent, as from 1906, by the Papua Act of 1905.
On the outbreak of World War I, in 1914, Australian troops occupied German New Guinea and the adjoining Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, etc.) and it has been held by Australia under mandate ever since.
Mr. William Walker Cocker, who was widely known throughout the islands of the Western Pacific, as a merchant and planter, died in Nukualofa, Tonga, on May 30, aged 82. Mr. Cocker, who was a son of the late Mr. Joshua Cocker, first British Consul in Tonga, was born in England in 1855, but had lived at Nukua lofa since 1860, when his family went there. He is survived by his wife, one son and four daughters.
Miss R. Cunnold, of the Melanesian Mission, who has been on leave in New Zealand, will return shortly to her work as sister-in-charge of the hospital at Lolowai, New Hebrides.
Miss N. Fagan, of the Melanesian Mis sion, who has been on furlough in Aus tralia, hopes to return shortly to Torgil, New Hebrides, where she has charge of the Native Girls’ School.