Around the same time the Queensland government felt alarmed by the threat of the expansion by the German colony of German New Guinea, and believed that by securing the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea, they could provide more safety for shipping through the Torres Strait. As a result, in April 1883 the colony annexed the Territory of Papua for the British Empire. The British government, opposed to further colonial expansion, initially repudiated the action, but a firmer commitment by the Australian colonial governments eventually led to southern New Guinea (Papua) being declared an official British protectorate on 6 November 1884. In response, Germany annexed the northern portion the following month, expanding Kaiser-Wilhelmsland.