Village of Elevara, Port Moresby, 1914

Published in Papua or British New Guinea, Sir Hubert Murray, 1914 In 1906 the young nation of Australia became a colonial administrator when it assumed responsibility for the external territory of Papua — the southern half of what is now Papua New Guinea. Australia saw the administration of the territory as an opportunity to secure its borders, expand its commercial and colonial interests and prove itself as a mature and modern nation.