Papua

During the past month or so I have been investigating family members who lived for a time in Papua, now part of Papua New Guinea. From 1906 the territory of Papua was administered by Australia. A number of Australians went to Papua to manage rubber plantations which it was hoped would prove to be find a successful export market. During World War I Australia took over the administration of New Guinea from the Germans. An expatriate community of Australians lived in the territories, particularly in and around Port Moresby. In 1942 when it was obvious that the Japanese were heading south to Papua New Guinea the Australian women were sent home. The men joined the Australian army to fight the Japanese.

Trove has been a great source for locating information about individuals and also the life style of the expatriates as north Queensland newspapers, particularly in Cairns but also Townsville, had regularly columns containing news from Papua New Guinea.

The worth of checking the latest issues of genealogy magazines such as Ancestor was proved this week when I found an article by Judy Rochow in the June issue of Ancestor about researching family in New Guinea. In the article she mention a cd-rom at the State Library - Index to Australians and other expatriates in Papua New Guinea. This resource may help me fill in some gaps - worth a try.