16 September 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea's independence from Australian administration. This golden jubilee was an opportunity to reflect on the connections that continue to unite Australia and Papua New Guinea through our shared history.

What better way to commemorate this milestone, than for National Archives of Australia to link our collections to Papua New Guinea communities in Australia and overseas. In the 18 months leading up to the 50th anniversary, teams across National Archives engaged in a range of initiatives including extensive digitisation efforts, collaborative exhibitions, and community engagement initiatives. It shows how archives can bridge nations, cultures and communities.

A prime ministerial visit

Earlier this year Prime Minister James Marape visited National Archives of Australia and was deeply engaged with the records. He was particularly taken with an Independence Day menu signed by Michael Somare, Papua New Guinea's first prime minister, and a patrol report written in 1954 which included photographs of the Prime Minister’s home village of Tari.

Commenting on the significance of these collections, Prime Minister Marape noted that many of the younger generation of Australians and Papua New Guineans are unaware of our shared history. As we mark this 50th anniversary, the extensive archival work serves multiple purposes: preserving history, fostering cross-cultural understanding and addressing what journalist Sean Dorey has described as the ‘national forgetting’ of Australia’s colonial relationship with Papua New Guinea.

Collaboration across borders

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this initiative has been its collaborative nature. In May this year, I was lucky enough to travel to Port Moresby to contribute to a joint exhibition between National Archives and the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG) celebrating the people, places and moments that shaped Papua New Guinea's path to independence.

My visit culminated in an all-day workshop, supported by the Yumi Stap Wantaim, Side by Side, Step by Step campaign and run in conjunction with my NMAG co-curator Dr Gregory Bablis. Working together in person created an opportunity for meaningful discussion, collaboration and exchange. The workshop saw 17 attendees from the cultural heritage sector in Port Moresby including NMAG, the Office of Library and Archives, the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, and the National Broadcasting Corporation developing exhibition themes, selecting images and adding personal perspectives to the overall content.

The resulting exhibition Wok bung wantaim – working together: remembering the first 50 years of independence opened in Port Moresby on 16 September 2025 and will later travel to regional museum hubs throughout Papua New Guinea.

Preserving history for future generations

Back in Canberra, National Archives staff were working on multiple projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary including:

• two major digitalisation projects
• a central hall display
• a digital wall story about Australians working in Papua New Guinea, forming part of the Connections Gallery in the National Office in Parkes, ACT.

At the heart of this commemoration lies a preservation and digitisation effort spanning over 18 months of collaborative work. National Archives has preserved and digitised more than 5,500 records, including early 20th-century glass plate negatives for the F E Williams collection, which have earned a place on UNESCO's Australian Memory of the World Register.

These newly digitised records – from historic photographs and legislative correspondence to war service records and patrol reports – document nearly 70 years (1906–1975) of Australian colonial engagement in Papua New Guinea, representing 'dual heritage' that belongs to both nations.

Personal and community connection in the digital age

Connecting people to our collections is at the core of what we do. It is often the more personal encounters, where people unexpectedly 'find themselves' in the archives, that are the most meaningful.

While working on this project, I recall going through images with members of the Capital Wantoks, a Canberra-based Papua New Guinea community association. Within the first few minutes, one member, Tommy Dietz, found a photo of his grandfather, a village constable in the Central Province. He was delighted because his family had no existing photos of this important man. When we had a community open day in early September, we were able to give a hard copy to Tommy’s mother, helping to keep the memory of her father alive.

Central to our work is the recognition that archives are not just repositories of the past – they are living resources that must remain accessible and relevant to the communities they represent. National Archives’ staff have also been undertaking community consultation to enrich the descriptions of the newly digitised records, adding additional information to assist the public to find what they’re looking for.

To access the newly digitised records you can explore Papua New Guinea fact sheets or watch our recent presentation on searching Papua New Guinea collections online.