The ''Papua and New Guinea Act 1949'' was an Act passed by the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

. It replaced the ''

Papua Act 1905 The ''Papua Act 1905'' was an act passed by the Parliament of Australia to transfer the territory of Papua from Britain to Australia. The long title of the Act was: ''An Act to provide for the acceptance of British New Guinea as a Territory un ...

'' and the ''

New Guinea Act 1920 The New Guinea Act 1920 was an Act passed by the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, which saw the transfer of the territory of German New Guinea from Germany to Australia under terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Act formally esta ...

'', and changed the status of the territories of Papua and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

by merging their administrations to form Papua and New Guinea. The Act established local rule, although the territory remained under control by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The Act was repealed by the ''

Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 The Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Australia. It replaced the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949, and changed the status of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea to that of an independent Papua New Guin ...

'' which allowed for

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

's independence from Australia.

References

Australia and the Commonwealth of Nations Politics of Papua and New Guinea 1949 in Australian law 1949 in Papua New Guinea 1949 in international relations Papua New Guinea and the Commonwealth of Nations Repealed Acts of the Parliament of Australia Territory of Papua and New Guinea {{PapuaNewGuinea-stub