1954 Papua New Guinean general election

General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea on 2 October 1954.[1]

Electoral system

The 29-member Legislative Council consisted of the Administrator, 16 civil servants, nine members appointed by the Administrator (three representatives of the indigenous population, three representing European settlers and three representing missionaries) and three elected Europeans.[2] The Chinese community were also given the right to vote alongside Europeans.[3] However, although there were around 13,000 Europeans and 2,000 Chinese in the territory, only around 2,700 people registered to vote.[1]

The three elected members were elected from three single-member constituencies, New Guinea Islands, New Guinea Mainland and Papua by preferential voting.[4] Voting was not compulsory.[5]

Campaign

Nominations for the three elected seats closed on 9 August, with five candidates put forward. The New Guinea Islands seat was contested by the incumbent Don Barrett and John Stokie, a plantation manager. In New Guinea Mainland, the incumbent Carl Jacobsen did not run, resulting in a contest between the theatre owner Harry Starr and optometrist and planter George Whittaker. Incumbent MLC Ernest James was the only candidate in Papua.[6]

Results

Constituency	Candidate	Votes	%	Notes
New Guinea Islands	Don Barrett	408	77.9	Re-elected
	John Stokie	116	22.1
New Guinea Mainland	George Whittaker	145	78.4	Elected
	Harry Starr	40	21.6
Papua	Ernest James	Unopposed		Re-elected
Invalid/blank votes		25	–
Total		734	100
Registered voters/turnout		1,825	40.2
Source: Pacific Islands Monthly

Appointed members

Position		Member
Administrator		Donald Cleland
Civil servants	Chief Collector of Customs	Frank Lee
	Government Secretary	Steven Lonergan
	Chief Native Lands Commissioner	Ivan Champion
	Crown Law Officer	Walter William Watkins
	Director of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries	R.E.P. Dwyer
	Director of District Services and Native Affairs	Alan Roberts
	Acting Assistant Director of District Services and Native Affairs	John Rollo Foldi
	Director of Education	William Groves
	Director of Forests	James Bannister McAdam
	Director of Health	John Gunther
	District Commissioner for Central District	Sydney Elliott-Smith
	District Commissioner for Madang	R.W. Wilson
	District Commissioner for Morobe	Horrie Niall
	District Commissioner for New Britain	John Keith McCarthy
	Secretary of Lands, Surveys and Mines	Douglas Macinnis
	Treasurer and Director of Finance	Harold Reeve
Representatives of Europeans		Doris Booth
		Robert Bunting
		Basil Fairfax-Ross
Representatives of Natives		Merari Dickson
		Pita Simogun
		John Vuia
Representatives of Missionaries		James Dwyer
		Frank George Lewis
		David Eric Ure
Source: Pacific Islands Monthly, Institute of Commonwealth Studies[7]

Aftermath

In March 1955 Frank Lee was replaced by Thomas Grahamslaw.[8] Later in the year missionary representative Frank George Lewis left the territory and was replaced in the Council by Philip Strong.[9]

References

1. Territorians Show Disinterest In Local Politics Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1954, p12
2. Local voice in Papua-N. Guinea administration: Legislative Council Taking Shape After Long Delay Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1951, p9
3. Future of Chinese Communities In The Pacific Pacific Islands Monthly, September 1953, p40
4. P-NG Legislative Council: Election of Three Members Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1951, p11
5. P-NGs Second Council Elections, October 2 Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1954, p31
6. Only Few Seek PN-G Voters' Favour Pacific Islands Monthly, August 1954, p16
7. Legislative Council 1954, Institute of Commonwealth Studies
8. Popular Promotion for Mr. T. Grahamslaw Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1955, p63
9. His Lordship the Bishop of New Guinea Pacific Islands Monthly, September 1955, p9