Pacific Wrecks - The Rabaul Memorial, East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG)

Missing In Action (MIA)

Prisoners Of War (POW)

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)

Chronology

The Rabaul Memorial East New Britain Province PNG

Justin Taylan 2023

Location
Lat 4° 12' 11" S Long 152° 10' 38" E The Rabaul Memorial and Montevideo Maru Memorial are memorial plaques attached to two large volcanic rocks in a park off Mango Avenue in Rabaul near the edge of Simpson Harbor.

The Rabaul 1942–1945 Memorial (Large Rock)
The Rabaul 1942–1945 Memorial is a large plaque attached to a large volcanic rock.

The Rabaul 1942–1945 Memorial

The island of New Britain with Rabaul as its administrative centre had until 1914 been part of German New Guinea from the close of the First World War, the territory was administered b Australia under Mandate granted by the League of Nations.

On 7 December 1941 war dramatically came to the Pacific when the Japanese attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.

In 1941 a small Australian Army garrison known as ‘Lark’ Force, numbering approx. 1400 personnel of which the 2/22nd Battalion was the major component, was located at Rabaul. It was supported by the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles. An Air Force squadron and a small shore-based Naval detachment.

Erected by the 2/22nd Battalion ‘Lark’ Force associated and relatives of those who died. Supported by the Rabaul Sub-Branch RSL. The office of Australian War Graves, the East New Britain Provincial Government, and the Rabaul Town Council.

Unveiled by:
The Hon. Sinai Brown, O.B.E. M.P.A.
Premier East New Britain Provincial Government on 16 September 1993

Montevideo Maru Memorial (Small Rock)
A smaller volcanic rock has two plaques dedicated to the memory of the Allied Prisoners of War and Civilian Internees who died aboard the Montevideo Maru.

In memory of the
Allied Prisoners of War
and Civilian Internees
who died on the
Montevideo Maru.

The Japanese ship ‘Montevideo Maru’, sailed from this harbor in June 1942 carrying 845 Allied prisoners of war and 208 civilian internees who had been captured by Japanese forces on New Britain and New Ireland and during World War II. The ship was torpedoed off the Philippine Islands on 1 July 1942 and sank with the loss of all lives.

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Last Updated
November 22, 2025

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