Timeline
Papua New Guinea before Independence: a Colonial Chronology
1828 Dutch annexation of western half of New Guinea
1884 Proclamation of Protectorate of the German New Guinea Company
Proclamation of the British New Guinea Protectorate
1888 British New Guinea Protectorate became British Colony
1899 German New Guinea Company taken over by the German state
1906 British New Guinea formally comes under the administration of the Commonwealth of Australia, becoming the Australian Territory of Papua
1914 Australian forces occupied German New Guinea
1919 Treaty of Versailles. Australia granted a mandate to administer German New Guinea
1921 Former German New Guinea established as Australian-administered, Mandated Territory of New Guinea following Treaty of Versailles
1941 Japanese invasion
1942 Wartime Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit established as first joint civilian administration of Papua and New Guinea
1946 Amalgamation of the administrations of the Australian territories of Papua and New Guinea.
1951 Legislative Council established, including three nominated positions for Papua New Guineans
1962 Select Committee established to consider a new constitution
UN Mission recommended establishment of a national parliament by extending the Legislative Council into a House of Assembly.
1964 Papua New Guineans vote in the first election for a national House of Assembly
1968 Second House of Assembly elections
1972 Election of first national coalition government, led by Michael Somare
1973 Self-government (1 December 1973)
1975 Independence (16 September 1975)