Kaiser-Wilhelmsland

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Kaiser-Wilhelmsland was the name given to the north-eastern part of the New Guinea mainland, while under Germany's control between 1884 until 1914, when it was annexed by Australian troops. With the Bismarck Archipelago it formed German New Guinea.

It was named after Wilhelm II, who was the German Emperor and King of Prussia at the time. After Germany's defeat, Kaiser-Wilhemsland was combined with British New Guinea to form Papua New Guinea under an Australian protectorate.

The colony was dominated by the German New Guinea Company, and between 1884 and 1899 was actually administered by the company.

The main commercial and missionary centres were Friedrich Wilhelmshafen (now Madang) and Alexishafen.

[edit] Missionary history

The first Catholic missionaries arrived in August 1896. The Apostolic prefecture was established and transferred to the Society of the Divine Word. At least twelve mission stations had been established along the northern coast by 1910. The priests noted the difficulty of working with the wide range of local languages: at St. Michael's school in Alexishafen, among about 120 pupils in 1910 twenty-five different languages were spoken.