sentences:  Blamey assigned Conlon to head the Directorate, which also provided policy advice on the governance of the Trust Territory of Papua and the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, then under Australian administration and the scene of fierce fighting between Allied and Japanese forces.Established in his new role, Conlon assembled around him a group of talented Australian academics, among them John Kerr, James Plimsoll, James McAuley, Harold Stewart, Camilla Wedgwood, Ian Hogbin, Bill Stanner, Marie Reay and Ida Leeson.By 1945, as World War II was drawing to a close, the School of Civil Affairs broadened its role to train officers for the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU), responsible for civil administration in the Territories.