The return to Rabaul 1945∗
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9074347 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hank Nelson (Australian National University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1995 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 131-153 |
| Publication date | 1995-12-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Pacific History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3344 • E-ISSN: 1469-9605 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00223349508572791 |
| OpenAlex | W1993108760 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 1 |
In January 1942 over 1,500 Australian troops and civilians were captured by the Japanese in Rabaul and on New Ireland and New Britain. Through much of the war the Allies had either coastwatchers or soldiers on New Britain, but remained uncertain what had happened to those captured. Anxious to return to Rabaul after the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the Australians found few survivors. Some officers and nurses had been shipped to Japan, and they were soon on their way home. Many of the Catholic missionaries had survived on the Gazelle Peninsula, but only a handful of the civilians, airmen, coastwatchers and soldiers were still alive and in Rabaul. Eventually the Australians learnt that over 1,000 prisoners had been on the Montevideo Maru which had been sunk in 1942. More than three years after the event Australians had to begin the accounting for their biggest single disaster of the Second World War
Ancient history · Archaeology · Peninsula · Sociology · Surrender · Australian History and Society · Demography · History · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Medicine · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact
| Citations per year | 0.03 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1997 - 1997 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |