1930 Robinson Map of New Guinea under Australian Mandate

This large map of New Guinea issued c. 1930 by Herbert Edward Cooper Robinson is the best commercial map of the region to have been issued during the Australian colonial and mandate period.

A Closer Look

The map covers the eastern half of New Guinea and is divided with color coding into provinces. The river systems are well mapped with countless indigenous villages and communities identified throughout. The Central Highlands remain blank and unexplored - as it was around this time that the Australian gold prosecutor Michael James 'Mick' Leahy (1901 - 1979) entered this area for the first time, discovering thriving uncontacted aboriginal communities.

Australian New Guinea

Although first discovered by Europeans in the 16th century, New Guinea was largely ignored by the global community due to its remoteness, dense jungle interior, headhunting indigenous peoples, and dangerous surrounding reefs. This changed in the late 1880s, at the height of Europe's global race for colonial territory. The British-Australian colony of New South Wales declared a protectorate over the southeastern quarter of New Guinea, called British New Guinea, in 1884, laying the groundwork for active colonial administration. Although the British initially denied the claim, they formally embraced it in 1906 with the recognition of the Australian Territory of Papua. Meanwhile, Germany occupied the northeastern part of New Guinea from 1884, calling it German New Guinea.

In 1914, during World War I (1914 - 1818), Australian forces seized German New Guinea and the neighboring German administered Bismarck Archipelago. The area remained firmly under Australian control throughout the war. Afterwards, the British accepted a League of Nations Mandate on the behalf of Australia for the former German New Guinea, which they administered alongside their own, Australia Papua. Australia continued to administer New Guinea until the Japanese invasion of 1941.

Publication History and Census

This map was published in Canberra by Herbert Edward Cooper Robinson in the early 1930s. We are aware of only a single edition, although others may exist. All examples are undated, and the map is sufficiently uncommon that no comparative study has been completed. That the map was issued in Canberra, suggests that it was printed by the government press arm of H.E.C. Robinson Ltd., likely for official administrative use. There are no examples recorded in the OCLC, but we are aware of an example at the National Library of Australia and at least 3 on the private market in the last 10 years.