Colonel William Holmes, November 1914–8 January 1915

After capturing Rabaul, German New Guinea, on 12 September 1914 Holmes accepted the governor's surrender of all German possessions in the Pacific except Kiaochao in China and Samoa (which a New Zealand force had already taken).

In Australia some provisions of the terms of surrender were criticized,but the instructions given to Holmes specified that he was only to occupy the territory,not to annex it. This was not fully understood at the time and his claim that he had acted in strict accordance with international law was later conceded. That he had other views,however, is borne out by his blunt statement that his objective was to maintain military occupation until the end of the war and that 'the islands would be retained as valuable British possessions for colonizing territories'.In January 1915 Holmes handed over the administration of German New Guinea to Colonel Sir Samuel Pethebridge and returned to Sydney, having asked for an appointment for active service with the Australian Imperial Force. His A.N. & M.E.F. appointment ended on 6 February 1915 and on 16 March he was given command of the 5th Brigade, with the rank of brigadier general. The brigade left Australia in May and landed at Gallipoli in August. Holmes commanded the Russell's Top-Monash Valley area during the holding action from September. At the evacuation in December he was temporarily in command of the 2nd Division, and the troops under his command were among the last off Anzac.

William Holmes

Colonel Samuel Augustus Pethbridge, 8 January 1915–21 October 1917

Pethebridge suggested that his unit, known as Tropical Force, might be used to relieve the expeditionary force led by Colonel W. Holmes which had captured German New Guinea in the first weeks of the war. This was accepted, and in January 1915 Pethebridge succeeded Holmes as administrator at Rabaul. Pethebridge's task was an unusual one for an Australian. German New Guinea was occupied territory and under the terms of the capitulation its laws and customs were to continue in force, including some at variance with British practice such as the use of corporal punishment to ensure labour discipline. The restrictions irked Pethebridge but he scrupulously observed the terms which set the bounds of his administration. He could be neither empire builder nor missionary. His role was caretaker of a valuable asset, to be husbanded against the day when Australia might gain legal right of possession .One of his first tasks was a tour of outposts, which took four months. After April 1915, however, he rarely left Rabaul and his administration settled into the enervating routine of garrison life. Pethebridge's main achievements were economic. Communications throughout the territory and with Australia were consolidated, kidnapping of native labour was stopped and the Australian banking system introduced. The territory's trade was secured for Australia and economic life normalized as far as possible. An important element in the even tenor of his administration was freedom from interference: Trumble and the defence minister (Sir) George Pearce were content to leave matters largely in his hands. Pethebridge's contribution was publicly acknowledged by promotion to brigadier general in 1916 and appointment as K.C.M.G. in 1917.For a man of his age and health every month in the tropics was a gamble and in January 1917 his luck ran out. He contracted malaria which permanently weakened him and forced him to return to Australia in October. In Melbourne his condition worsened and he died on 25 January 1918, survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. He was buried with full military honours in Box Hill cemetery. Pethebridge was a man of distinguished appearance and his official persona was remote and even dour; but those who knew him in his more informal moments, particularly his subordinates at Rabaul, testified to personal warmth and sympathy. He inspired affection as well as respect. His successor at Rabaul, S. S. Mackenzie, later the official historian of the occupation, judged Pethebridge to be the outstanding figure in the military administration of New Guinea, his work providing the administrative basis for its orderly post-war transition from German colony to Australian mandated territory.

Sir Samuel Augustus Pethebridge

Seaforth Simpson Mackenzie, 21 October 1917–21 April 1918, acting

When the ailing Pethebridge left Rabaul, he named the judge as his successor and in January 1918 Mackenzie was appointed acting administrator.He instituted a Department of Agriculture and appointed its first director. To incourage the villagers to make copra, he tried to prevent purchase of their coconuts. Trading regulations to the Gazelle Peninsula and the Duke of York Islands were reapplied. In a submission to Melbourne he made another unsuccessful attempt to provide for Australian settlers on small freehold plantations. Otherwise he conformed to Pethebridge's established policies. When the new administrator Brigadier General G. J. Johnston arrived at Rabaul on 21 April 1918, Mackenzie resumed his duties as legal adviser and was appointed judge of appeal.

Seaforth Simpson Mackenzie

George Jameson Johnston, 21 April 1918–1 May 1920

Early in 1918 Johnston's wife died after a riding accident and on 16 March he was appointed military administrator of German New Guinea.

During his term several of the outlying parts of the Territory were brought under more effective control, and he was the first administrator

to propose a training scheme for New Guinea district officers. His administration received some public criticism and his appointment was terminated in May 1920 but he was appointed C.B.E. in recognition of his work. The Encyclopaedia of Papua and New Guinea (1972) states that he conscientiously did his best in an appointment for which he was suited by neither temperament nor training'. On returning to Melbourne he resumed his position of governing director of Johnston's Pty Ltd and continued his service with the citizen forces, commanding the 3rd Division in 1922-27 with the rank of major general from 1 October 1923. Survived by two sons and a daughter, he died on 23 May 1949 and was buried in Brighton cemetery after a military funeral.

Australian soldiers on parade as Brigadier General G J Johnston arrives. The men at front from the left are Captain H G Preston, General Johnston, Lieutenant Colonel S S McKenzie, Commander G J Banks

George Jameson Johnston

Thomas Griffiths, 1 May 1920–21 March 1921

In March 1920 Griffiths became inspector general of administration in the Department of Defence,

Melbourne, but in April he was appointed administrator of the former German territory of New Guinea.

He was a popular and sound administrator but after the first few months of his term,

a period of preparation for the expropriation of German interests, the post of administrator lost much of its significance. Survived by his two daughters, Griffiths died on 16 November 1947 at Toorak, and was buried with military honours in Melbourne general cemetery after a requiem Mass in St Colman's Church, Balaclavance.

Thomas Griffiths

Evan Alexander Wisdom, 21 March 1921–13 June 1933

Taking over at Rabaul from Thomas Griffiths on 21 March 1921, during the next few years Wisdom converted the improvised military administration into a professional public service. In accordance with the terms of the League of Nations mandate he did his best to advance the welfare of the native population. He was handicapped at first by attitudes inherited from the German colonial period, and, after 1926, by owners of the expropriated plantations and by German missionaries. Like later administrators, he was troubled by the intransigence of the planters, their occasional maltreatment of workers, and their influence in Australian political circles. In 1930 the fall in copra prices and gold production compelled him to reduce government activities.Late in 1931 Wisdom took leave to accompany his wife to Sydney where she died in November. Resuming duty early in 1932, he formally opened the Bulolo Gold Dredging Co.in March; gold production rose again and fiscal troubles receded. Wisdom, however, was not to see the benefit: tired and lonely, after eleven years in office he applied for furlough. He left Rabaul in June 1932 and retired in June 1933. Resuming his earlier interests, he became involved in new mining ventures in Western Australia and alternated between the Melbourne Club and Perth where he kept in close touch with old friends on the goldfields. He died without issue on 7 December 1945 in Melbourne and was cremated.

Alexander Wisdom Evan Alexander Wisdom

Thomas Griffiths, 13 June 1933–12 September 1934, acting, second time

Three years later he returned to New Guinea where in 1932-33 he was acting administrator and from July 1933 to September 1934 administrator. He then retired to Melbourne; in 1938 he applied, unsuccessfully, for the post of administrator in Nauru. During World War II he served briefly in the Department of Defence Co-ordination, then located in Melbourne.

Thomas Griffiths

Jack Keith Murray, 31 October 1945–1952

I n 1943 Colonel Murray was sent to Melbourne where, in February 1944, he joined Alf Conlon's Directorate of Research (and Civil Affairs). After visiting Papua and New Guinea, he was appointed (December) acting chief instructor, Land Headquarters School of Civil Affairs, Canberra, where he trained personnel to administer Australia's territories. He transferred to the Reserve of Officers on 11 October 1945. As the Territory of Papua-New Guinea returned to civil administration, advisers of the minister for external territories, E. J. Ward, looked for an administrator who would pursue their reformist aims for the country. Murray was chosen from fifty-three candidates and sworn in on 16 October 1945.Caught between the competing interests trying to shape postwar Papua-New Guinea—European settlers, missionaries, Canberra bureaucrats, colonial officials fearful of change, and the United Nations—Murray dealt with problems of reconstruction as they arose, paying special attention to the plight of the people in villages devastated by war. Each year he spent months visiting outlying districts, talking with village leaders and missionaries, encouraging his staff, and restoring confidence in the Australian administration. He obtained from Canberra neither policy directions nor decisions on his own proposals, which he set out in his Macrossan lecture at the University of Queensland in 1946, The Provisional Administration of the Territory of Papua-New Guinea (Brisbane, 1949). Action, he thought, could best be taken in Port Moresby, owing to the lack of interest in Australia. Few in Canberra agreed.In pursuit of a 'new deal' for Papuans and New Guineans, Murray supervised the establishment of village courts and village councils, legislated for the creation of co-operative societies, developed extension courses in agriculture, set up aid-posts, instigated the training of indigenous medical officers and orderlies, and moved the workforce from an indenture system to one of free labour. The local White establishment found Murray's attitude to Papua New Guineans scandalous; when the Murrays invited Papuans to functions at Government House, some Whites boycotted them and Murray was dubbed 'Kanaka Jack'. He had a few able lieutenants, but the lack of support and understanding in Australia and Port Moresby gradually wore him down.As a Labor appointee, Murray was held suspect by (Sir) Robert Menzies' government, and was offered lesser posts, which he declined. A major rift occurred in 1950 when Murray disagreed with an order from (Sir) Percy Spender, the new minister for external territories, that Papua New Guineans should not speak directly to a visiting mission from the United Nations. Spender was proved wrong, but the conclusion in Canberra was that Murray was overreaching himself. In

As a Labor appointee, Murray was held suspect by (Sir) Robert Menzies' government, and was offered lesser posts, which he declined. A major rift occurred in 1950 when Murray disagreed with an order from (Sir) Percy Spender, the new minister for external territories, that Papua New Guineans should not speak directly to a visiting mission from the United Nations. Spender was proved wrong, but the conclusion in Canberra was that Murray was overreaching himself. In 1951 (Sir) Paul Hasluck became minister and endorsed a programme of gradual development. His views on policy were similar to Murray's, but Hasluck was determined to take full control. In May 1952, without offering him the opportunity to retire or resign, he had Murray dismissed and replaced by (Sir) Donald Cleland.

Apart from an appointment (1956-57) as a Colombo Plan adviser in Ceylon, Murray lived in retirement at St Lucia, Brisbane. He was a member (1953-68) of the senate of the University of Queensland and, at Hasluck's request, became a mentor to young Papua New Guineans studying in Australia. In 1959 he was appointed O.B.E. The university awarded him an honorary doctorate of science (1967) and made him an emeritus professor (1975). On the recommendation of the recently independent (1975) Papua New Guinea government, he was knighted in 1978. He and Evelyn gave each other devoted support into old age, as throughout their marriage. Murray died on 10 December 1979 at Jindalee and was cremated with the forms of the Uniting Church. His wife (d.1984) survived him; they had no children.

Sir Keith Murray focused and epitomized reform in postwar Papua and New Guinea. So long as he was administrator, change remained the central issue. By the time he was removed from office, the pattern had been set, and the best policies of the following decades flowed from those he had supported and proposed.

Sir Jack Keith Murray

Donald Cleland, 1952–1966

An applicant to be administrator of Papua and New Guinea in 1945, he believed that he was rejected for (Sir Jack) Murray on political grounds, yet Cleland's appointment as assistant-administrator in 1951 was denounced as being 'political', and the 'howl' increased when Murray was asked to resign and Cleland became acting-administrator, then administrator in 1953. (Sir) Paul Hasluck, minister for territories, pointed to Cleland's record in A.N.G.A.U. where Murray had been junior to Cleland. In their twelve-year partnership Hasluck was the public figure, but he was dependent on Cleland's assiduous administration and both men crossed roles, with Cleland setting policy and Hasluck forcing action from the bureaucracy. According to Hasluck, Cleland was 'cool-headed, firm and decisive', with a 'clear view of his loyalties', though he did not always get prompt action from his officers. Under Hasluck's less influential successor Charles Barnes, Cleland resisted direction from Canberra.

Cleland was pragmatic, balancing commercial, mission and government interests against what he thought was primary: the orderly development of the indigenous people. Publicly, he measured success in terms of building roads, bridges and airstrips, the increase in government revenue and the expansion of the public service. He chaired the Legislative Council, his 'pride and joy', until 1964 and directed the introduction of the first House of Assembly elected by full adult franchise; he restructured the public service so that it would be dominated by Papua New Guineans, paid at a rate the country could afford; and he continued the elimination of discriminatory legislation, most obviously ending the liquor ban in 1962. While his reports were methodical, in his diary he made quick, shrewd judgements of people and events. He was knighted in 1961

In retirement Cleland lived in Port Moresby, the only administrator of either territory to choose to stay there. He was pro-chancellor and chancellor (from 1971) of the University of Papua New Guinea, and chancellor (from 1967) of the Anglican diocese of Papua New Guinea. Survived by his wife and two sons, Sir Donald died on 27 August 1975 in Port Moresby; accorded a state funeral, he was buried in the cemetery at Bomana. Cleland won the trust of ambitious lieutenants, he was stoic in the face of criticism, and his integrity and judgement were undoubted. He did not court popularity, but was widely respected, and remembered with affection.

Sir Donald Mackinnon Cleland

David Osborne Hay, 23 December 1966–1970

The problem that confronted Hay in taking over from Sir Donald Cleland, who had been Administrator for 13 years, was not of his own making. He was well qualified and fitted to handle the tough task he had taken on – to steer the territory towards self-determination at a time when Australia was under intense international pressure to accelerate the dismantling of one of the world’s last colonial regimes.

However, the high hopes and confidence with which he had assumed office foundered on the obduracy of George Warwick Smith, then Secretary of the Department of External Territories, who insisted that all decisions relating to PNG should be run across his desk. His imperious mode of operation, with a proclivity to intervene even in minor day-to-day matters, unchecked by his Minister, C. E. (Ceb) Barnes, had the effect of diminishing not only the role of the Administrator, but also of other experienced field officers.

A man of quiet inner-strength, Hay was not one to tolerate just being a Canberra departmental front-man. Having his submissions for greater haste in the devolution of decision-making to local hands go largely unheeded further aggravated his position. The situation led Hay, while on leave in early 1970, to visit Canberra and speak to the Prime Minister, John Gorton. The upshot was that Warwick Smith was moved from Territories to become Secretary of the old Department of the Interior and Hay took over as Secretary of Territories.

This retained Hay’s involvement in PNG affairs and gave continuity to the moves towards self-government, which he had been endeavouring to set in train. Moreover, a close and cordial working relationship, based on due respect for each other’s position, had already been established between Hay and the new Administrator, Les Johnson, his former deputy, who had a profound knowledge and understanding of the PNG situation.

Sir David Osborne Hay

Leslie Wilson Johnson, 1970–1973

Johnson regarded his 12 years in PNG as the ‘most interesting and fulfilling’ years of his life, in which his wife Dulcie fully shared. As director of education, he consolidated and expanded Roscoe’s work, putting the education system generally and teacher training in particular on sure foundations. As well as arguing strongly for the creation of the University of PNG, he steered the legislation establishing it through the House of Assembly.

In discharging his various responsibilities in PNG, one of his most important roles was as conciliator and honest broker. Among other things, this meant that political sessions that began in the House of Assembly often went on late into the night under the more relaxed circumstances and rules of the Johnson home. And there he was aided ably by wife Dulcie, who could effortlessly put ‘the most pompous international visitor or the shyest Papua New Guinean villager’ at their ease.

The approach remained the same when he became Administrator to which he brought fine judgment in winding down his position from chief executive of the Australian Administration to constitutional head of a PNG Government. And as the transitional steps to self-government had to be taken, he worked much as he had on the Constitutional Development Committee - offering advice and counsel. But this did not work on the Gazelle Peninsula. He tried hard to achieve a settlement of the trouble stirred up there by the rebellious Mataungan Association, but with little success. The Mataungans remained at loggerheads with the Administration until after the 1972 House of Assembly elections.

He eschewed the ‘big stick’, which had been the hallmark of Warwick Smith’s term as Secretary of the Department of Territories in seeking to control every aspect of PNG affairs in the name of his minister. Working in cordial tandem with Sir David Hay, his predecessor as Administrator, who had replaced Warwick Smith at Territories, much was done to restore Port Moresby-Canberra relations.

Johnson’s formal role as Administrator ended in 1973, whereupon he became High Commissioner when PNG became self-governing. His PNG functions ended in March 1974, with career diplomat Tom Critchley assuming the High Commission’s post until independence day in September 1975.

Sir Leslie Wilson Johnson