The German corvette SMS CAROLA, sailed from Sydney with orders to lay claim to eastern New Guinea and islands of the Bismarck Archipelago, on behalf of the German Government. The Queensland premier, Sir Thomas McIlwraith, saw this as threat and dispatched the Government steamer PEARL to Port Moresby. While his actions caused serious concern within the British Foreign Office, it did forestall the Germans annexing all of eastern New Guinea. The northern portion of New Guinea became the colony of German New Guinea, with the southern section controlled by the British.