The formerly German-, British-, and Australian-controlled territory officially recognized its flag on March 11, 1971, and flag usage was extended to ships at independence (Sept. 16, 1975). The colors red and black are shown extensively in local art and clothing. Featured emblems are a bird of paradise and the Southern Cross constellation

Facts of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea lays north of Australia in the Pacific is a raw land, remarkably untamed and as variegated as swamp and jagged limestone; mud and moss forest; suffocating heat and Highland chill; plumed, pearl-shelled villagers and prosaic hill people; tiny tree kangaroos and enormous Queen Alexandra Bird-wing butterflies.
The climate is typically monsoon: hot, humid and wet year-round. There are defined wet (December to March) and dry (May to October) seasons, but both are subject to regional variation (especially in the islands). Rainfall, for example, varies tremendously. Temperatures on the coast are reasonably stable all year, usually hovering between 25 and 30°C (77-86°F) but humidity and winds are changeable. Temperatures drop at higher altitudes, and it can be very chilly in the Highlands.

It is believed that Papua New Guinea was originally inhabited by Asian settlers over 50,000 years ago. The first European contact in 1526-27 was by the Portuguese explorer Jorge de Meneses, who named the island Ilhas dos Papuas (Island of the Fuzzy Hairs). The Spaniard Inigo Ortiz de Retes later called it New Guinea because he thought the people similar to those of Guinea in Africa. Further exploration followed, including landings by Bougainville, Cook, Stanley and John Moresby.

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A large, rather daunting place, New Guinea was left alone for several centuries, with only the Dutch making any effort to assert European authority over the island. But in 1824, the Dutch (seeking to shore up their profitable Dutch East Indies empire) formalized their claims to sovereignty over the western portion of the island. Germany followed, taking possession of the northern part of the territory in 1884. A colonial troika was completed three days later when Britain declared protectorate over the southern region; outright annexation occurred four years later.

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Papua New Guinea (PNG) was one of the last inhabited places on Earth to be explored by other nations -- and it's still the land of the unexpected. Travelers to this wild and beautiful island nation are in store for plenty of surprises -- both good and bad. On the positive side, there is the unspoiled nature of the landscape: isolated beaches, valleys, mountains, and different animal species.