island and on 3 November 1884, the German flag was raised over Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, the Bismarck Archipelago (formerly New Britain) and the German Solomon Islands. On 17 May 1885, the German Emperor granted an Imperial charter to the newly founded Neuguinea-Kompanie (New Guinea Company) for this annexation, which was further extended to the Solomon Islands on 13 November 1886. On 1 April 1899, the German government took formal control, establishing a protectorate. A treaty with Spain, signed on 30 July, ensured German control over several other island groups in the Pacific, and these were added to the protectorate of German New Guinea. The economic life of German New Guinea's small population of European and Asian settlers, as well as that of its Melanesian population, relied heavily on the export of copra and the import of goods and services. It remained a modest outpost, and by August 1914 only 1,273 Europeans lived in the colony, while there was also a small but significant number of Japanese, Chinese and Malays. Prelude Planning and preliminary operations Following Britain's declaration of war on Imperial Germany on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War, Australia and the other members of the British Empire were automatically involved, with Prime Minister Joseph Cook stating on 5 August that "...when the Empire is at war, so also is Australia." Within days, Brigadier General William Bridges and his staff officer, Major Cyril Brudenell White, had completed plans for the creation of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). White proposed an expeditionary force of 18,000 men, including 12,000 Australians and 6,000 New Zealanders. Cook subsequently approved the proposal, although he increased the offer to 20,000 men to serve in any destination desired by the British government. On 6 August 1914, London cabled its acceptance of the force and asked that it be sent as soon as possible. Recruiting offices opened on 10 August and by the end of 1914, 52,561 volunteers had been accepted, despite strict physical fitness guidelines. Meanwhile, after an additional British request for assistance on 6 August 1914, the Australian government hurriedly prepared another expeditionary force to destroy the German wireless stations at Yap in the Caroline Islands, Nauru, and Rabaul in New Britain. As with the New Zealand military operation against German Samoa, which was completed in late August, the targets were strategically important wireless stations used by the German East Asiatic Squadron, under