Capture of German New Guinea

In 1914 Australia responded quickly to remove the German threat from the Pacific. A mixed military force, called the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, was raised and sent to seize German New Guinea. Units of the Royal Australian Navy escorted the force.

On 11 September it landed at Rabaul, the capital of German New Guinea. The small garrison resisted briefly, and six Australians were killed. On 17 September a surrender was signed. The Australian Military Administration of New Guinea continued until 1921, when Australia received a mandate from the League of Nations to govern the country.

The call
From The Bulletin 11 November 1915, pg 13. Collection of the Australian War Memorial.

• Capture of New Guinea
• Victory for the Navy
• Gallipoli campaign
• The Western Front
• Conscription
• Light Horse in Middle East

Major Friedrich Wilhelm von Ploennies, German consul in Queensland before the First World War.
AWM P1725.001

Pith helmet belonging to Major Von Ploennies. For the story of its conservation, go to Conservation Stories on the Australian War Memorial website