Australian occupation of German New Guinea The Australian occupation of German New Guinea was the takeover of the Pacific colony of German New Guinea in September – November 1914 by an expeditionary force from Australia , called the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force . Background . Geography . German New Guinea ( ) was a German protectorate from 1884 . German New Guinea consisted of the territories of the northeastern part of New Guinea ( ) and the nearby Bismarck Archipelago , consisting of New Britain ( ) and New Ireland ( ) . Together with the other Western Pacific German islands , excluding German Samoa , they formed the Imperial German Pacific Protectorates . The protectorate included the German Solomon Islands , the Caroline Islands , Palau , the Mariana Islands ( except for Guam ) , the Marshall Islands and Nauru . Military situation . Following the outbreak of World War I , the German East Asia Squadron , consisting of the armored cruiser s and and the light cruisers , , and , under the command of Vice - Admiral Maximilian von Spee , was cruising in the Pacific Ocean . The threat posed by the German squadron , caused concerns regarding attacks on merchant shipping in the region . The German wireless stations and coaling stations in the Pacific were to be destroyed after a request from Great Britain . Great Britain had previously severed all German undersea cables routed through British controlled areas . Prelude . Australia . Australia hurriedly raised the Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force ( ANMEF ) , consisting of 1000 soldiers and 500 sailors . The ANMEF was tasked with the capture of the Imperial German Pacific Protectorates within six months . This included capturing or destroying the radio stations and coal stations supporting the German East Asia Squadron . The AN & MEF comprised one battalion of infantry of 1 , 000 men enlisted in Sydney , known as the 1st Battalion , ANMEF and 500 naval reservists and ex - sailors who would serve as infantry . Another battalion of militia from the Queensland based Kennedy Regiment , which had been hurriedly dispatched to garrison Thursday Island , also contributed 500 volunteers to the force . A reconnaissance of the area was undertaken by the Australia Squadron , consisting of the battlecruiser , the second class protected cruiser , the light cruisers and and the destoyers , , and , under the command of Vice Admiral Sir George Patey , entered Blanche Bay on 12 August . The destroyers entered Simpson Harbour and Matupi Harbour at night searching for the German East Asia Squadron . Landing parties from the destroyers were sent ashore to demolish the telephones in the post offices in Rabaul and at the German gubernatorial capital of Herbertshöhe ( now Kokopo ) , located to the south - east . Intelligence was sort about the location of the radio station , although no information was forthcoming . After threatening to bombard the nearby settlements if the radio station continued to transmit , the Australian warships withdrew . HMAS " Australia " captured " Sumatra " and HMAS " Encounter " captured " Zambesi " whilst patrolling St Georges Channel on 12 August . HMAS " Melbourne " requisitioned the cargo of coal of the collier " Alconda " off Rossel Island on 13 August . German New Guinea . The Germans had a force of Polizeitruppe , typically used for putting down rebellions . At Bita Paka , the Polizeitruppe comprised approximately 50 German officers and 240 native police soldiers . Rabaul was well stocked with the coal for use by the German East Asian Cruiser Squadron . Occupation . New Britain . Battle of Bita Paka . The Battle of Bita Paka was a battle on 11 September 1914 , to capture the wireless station at Bita Paka . A mixed force of German officers and Melanesian police mounted a stout resistance and forced the Australians to fight their way to the objective . After a day of fighting during which both sides suffered casualties , Australian forces captured the wireless station . Siege of Toma . The Siege of Toma was a siege between 14 – 17 September 1914 after troops of the ANMEF surrounded Toma , preceding to bombard it with a 12 pound field piece , which caused the Germans to negotiate a surrender . New Guinea . Madang . Madang was captured without opposition in November 1914 . Aftermath . Lieutenant Hermann Detzner , a German officer , and some 20 native police evaded capture in the interior of New Guinea for the entire war . After the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 , Germany lost all its colonial possessions , including German New Guinea , which became the Territory of New Guinea , a League of Nations Mandate Territory under Australian administration .