Dr David Tierney

Recognising sacrifices made during the WWII Bougainville Conflict, Papua New Guinea

The image, from page 15 in the Sydney Sun, 19 August 1945, with the caption ‘He was my mate’, shows an Australian digger carrying a cross to mark the grave of a fellow soldier killed during the WWII Bougainville Campaign. Sadly, the implied sentiment has been lost over

Sohano Island Memorial, Bougainville, Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

time, with the sacrifices made and the extent of the conflict largely unrecognised.

This is despite a quarter of the local population of 50,000 perishing and at least 239,000 combatants comprising 65,000 Japanese troops (18,500–21,500 casualties), 144,000 US troops (727 casualties), 30,000 Australians (516 casualties), and New Zealand and Fijian troops.

In the late 1950s the Sohano Return Services League (RSL) organised the construction of a memorial to Australian and Allied Forces service personnel who died during the war, along with the Coastwatchers and locals who supported them. In 1955 an area of about an acre where the memorial is located was proclaimed as Sohano Memorial Park and reserved for future sale or lease.

Team leaders Tony Tsora and Lawrence Belleh (Photos D Tierney, November 2024)

In 2009 I stumbled across the memorial, causing me to reflect on the Anzac Day celebrations of my childhood. Later, photos of the memorial and the plaques were forwarded to the Australian War Memorial and Department of Veterans’ Affairs site for overseas memorials which, remarkably until then, had no record of its existence. Recent meetings with representatives of various RSLs and Bougainvilleans also suggest that the extent of this campaign is largely unknown.

Sadly, last year, the memorial plaques were stolen, and Bougainvilleans requested assistance to have them replaced. This work was completed in November 2024, under the auspice of the Bougainville Arts, Culture and Tourism Authority, with prominent Bougainvilleans, Tony Tsora and Lawrence Belleh taking the lead. The project was made possible with a grant from the Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs, along with the generosity of Springvale and Clayton RSLs and Cameo Memorials. The last photo is of the completed work which, in addition to replacing the plaques, included repainting the monument and four bollards, reinstalling the perimeter chain fence, and repairing and re-erecting the original flagpole.

The memorial sits on a beautiful natural parkland on Sohano Island, situated at the western entrance of Buka Passage, a body of water separating Buka Island from the much larger island of Bougainville.

In addition to memorialising the sacrifices made during the Bougainville WWII campaign, the memorial stands as a symbol of the sustained peace that exists between former belligerents and the long-lasting relationship between the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the countries of former combatants.

In recognition of its importance, the stakeholders would like the memorial formally recognised with a re-dedication ceremony.•