5 HISTORICAL SITES IN EAST NEW BRITAIN

Bita Paka War Cemetery

Bita Paka is a War Cemetery that contains the graves of Australian soldiers who lost their lives during the operations in New Britain and New Ireland, or who died in the area while prisoners of war, which were brought into the cemetery from isolated sites, from temporary military cemeteries and from camp burial grounds during WWII. Laid out in a well-kept field, nestled in the natural canopy of gigantic rainforest's trees, the War Cemetery provides an over-whelming sense of peace and tranquility to anyone who visits.

MONTEVIDEO MARU MEMORIAL

Near the waterfront in what was once downtown Rabaul (before the 1994 volcano eruption) sits a stone memorial to the victims of the "MV Montevideo Maru", a Japanese prison ship that was sunk off the Philippines, killing approximately 845 prisoners of war and 209 civilians.

It marks the location where the ship was loaded with its prisoners of war before sailing for Japan. The sinking of the "Montevideo Maru" was the worst maritime disaster in Australian history. The memorial is a small yet significant reminder of the tragedy that occurred in 1942 and pays homage to those fallen prisoners of war and civilians on-board the MV Montevideo Maru when it sank.

JAPANESE WAR MEMORIAL

JAPANESE WAR MEMORIAL

On a road above Rabaul is the Japanese War Memorial, which overlooks Simpson Harbor, once the sea anchor in the South Pacific of Japan’s invincible navy. The Japanese Memorial Monument is built on ash-covered Namanula Hill and is the main Japanese World War II Memorial in the Pacific.

There is a hole in the structure that allows sunlight to fall on the simple stone shrine in the center. There are altars, and various shrines, but what’s most memorable is the view of the harbor, surrounded on three sides by foreboding volcanic hills This monument serves as a memorial to those who sacrificed their lives in the islands and seas of the South Pacific during WWII and is dedicated as a symbol to world peace.