Editing Port Moresby (section)

===World War II===
[[File:The long-closed Burns Philp department store.jpg|thumb|upright|The long-closed [[Burns Philp]] department store, in the mid-1990s having been used as a private school building]]
During [[World War II]], some Papuan men enlisted in the [[Royal Pacific Islands Regiment|Papua Infantry Battalion]] and others as carriers over trails and rough terrains ([[Porter (carrier)|porter]]s) as supply support to [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] and [[Japan]]ese armies during long jungle marches.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://e-journal.iain-palangkaraya.ac.id/files/journals/9/articles/5183/submission/original/5183-15633-2-SM.html|title=Australian War Memorial - AJRP Essays|publisher=Ajrp.awm.gov.au|access-date=2010-04-25|archive-date=4 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804222129/http://rockinrebel.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Historian [[William Manchester]] outlines in his biography of General [[Douglas MacArthur]], ''[[American Caesar]]'', that acting as porters was well down the natives' list of acceptable voluntary activities and that they would fade away without great inducements.<ref name="Caesar0">[[American Caesar]], [[William Manchester]], 1978, Little Brown Company, 793 pages, {{ISBN|0-316-54498-1}}, pp.306: "On and about Jul-Sep 1942 and MacArthur's troops stop the Japanese in the difficult jungles of New Guinea and General Kenney gifts Port Moresby to the SAC by moving the bomber line {{convert|1800|mi|km|disp=sqbr}} to five new air bases."</ref> Many Papuan residents of Port Moresby either returned to their family villages or were evacuated to camps when the threat of Japanese invasion loomed. By September 1942, the city was an important Allied complex of bases, and thousands of troops were stationed in the area or more often, staged through it, as it was the last Allied bastion on the island<ref name=FourCorners_Amazon_entry>{{cite book |title=Amazon.com listing for the "Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea" |isbn=0792274172 |last1=Salak |first1=Kira |year=2004 |publisher=National Geographic }}</ref><ref name=FourCornersWeb>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirasalak.com/FourCorners.html |title=Nonfiction book about Papua New Guinea,"Four Corners" |last=Salak |first=Kira |access-date=2008-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120015656/http://www.kirasalak.com/FourCorners.html |archive-date=2008-11-20 |url-status=live }}</ref> and, conversely, a key staging and jumping off point as the Allies began conducting offensive warfare themselves, pushing back the Japanese advances.<ref name="Caesar1">[[American Caesar]], [[William Manchester]], 1978, Little Brown Company,793 pages, {{ISBN|0-316-54498-1}}, pp.290-307: "On and about Feb-Dec 1942 and MacArthur's reorganization of troops, lack of theater priority, his support for Guadalcanal and his daring offensive gamble in going to meet the Japanese in the difficult jungles of New Guinea as a way of conducting a forward defense of Australia, rather than risk a war of maneuver when he had insufficient forces to move around."</ref> General MacArthur located his headquarters in Port Moresby from November 1942 to October 1944.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

In 1945, the [[Territory of Papua and New Guinea]] was formed when [[Territory of Papua|Papua]] and the former German New Guinea, which had been administered by Australia since 1918, were amalgamated under a single Australian administration though several laws remained in two territories and remain so, which can be complicating with provinces sitting on two sides of the otherwise extinct boundary. Port Moresby became the capital of the new combined territory and a focal point for the expansion of public services. Port Moresby was granted city status in 1972, with [[Oala Oala-Rarua]] becoming the first Lord Mayor.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/250270589 Our first city] ''Papua New Guinea Post-Courier'', 14 April 1972</ref>