This 1952 map pairs Australia with New Guinea to its north, reflecting a recent and hard-won piece of administrative history. Papua and New Guinea had only been formally combined under a single Australian administration in 1949, following a brutal WWII campaign in which Australian, American, and Japanese forces fought for control of the island's mountains and jungles — a campaign that cost an estimated 200,000 Japanese lives and roughly 7,000 Australian lives. In 1952, the merged territory was just beginning to build its own legislative institutions, more than two decades before Papua New Guinea's independence in 1975.

We georeferenced the original 1952 survey and applied modern digital elevation data to add true shaded relief to Australia's outback and New Guinea's mountainous interior. The shading is printed flat on the paper — not raised or textured — so it frames and hangs like any fine art print.

Available unframed, or framed in black or walnut.

Note on legibility: text on the original map is small and can be difficult to read given the map's age. In areas where the relief shading is darkest, the underlying labels are not legible. We recommend the largest available size for the best detail.

FREE SHIPPING on orders to the contiguous US over $49 with UPS ground or USPS to PO Boxes.

Unframed prints - Printed to order and shipped within 2-3 business days
Framed prints - Custom framed and will ship in 3-4 weeks

Full refund on returns of unframed paper prints within 30 days of purchase. Prints must be returned in NEW condition without creases or damage. Please email us at [email protected] for instructions.

If prints are shipped back to us and are not in new condition, we offer a store credit or can return them to you. 

We do NOT ACCEPT returns or exchanges on framed prints or canvas wraps because they are made to order.

Click HERE for more information on shipping and returns.

Made in the USA

We consider our maps to be works of art, so we print and frame them accordingly.

Using award-winning printers with gallery quality fine art paper and inks, our maps will exceed expectations and last a lifetime.

• Archival Paper and Inks
• 100% Cotton, OBA-Free, and Acid-Free
• Heavyweight 21.5 mil
• Certified to last 100 years

Read customer reviews HERE attesting to the quality of our prints.

We use real Walnut for our frames, unlike the lesser quality veneer you will typically find elsewhere. With beautiful hardwood grain, each is handmade to order at a professional frame shop.

• 7/8 inch face and 1 1/2 inch depth
• Acrylite glazing (more clear than glass)
• Acid-free backing paper
• Hanging wire installed