AMBON WAR CEMETERY Indonesia
Location Information:
Ambon island lies
close to the south west coast of Ceram in the Molucca Group of islands. It is
reached by air from Jakarta with connecting flights at Ujung Pandang in Sulawesi
(Celebes). Ambon War Cemetery (known locally as the Australian Cemetery) is on
the opposite side of the bay to the airport. It can be reached by taxi
travelling around the bay to Ambon town, or there is a ferry service across the
bay which brings you to Ambon town. The Cemetery is 5 kilometres north-east of
Ambon on the main road to Galala. Standing on the first terrace within the
cemetery will be found the Ambon Memorial. This Memorial, in the form of a
shelter, commemorates officers and men of the Australian forces who have no
known grave. Many of those commemorated here died in the defence of Ambonia in
the early months of the war against Japan and others were killed in the Allied
assault on Japanese air bases established on Ambonia and Celebes. A large number
perished in Japanese prisoner of war camps.
Historical
Information:
The town of Ambon,
situated on Laitimor Peninsula on the southern shore of Ambon Bay, was severely
damaged during the war, first by the Japanese who bombed it heavily in January
1942 and later by the Allied forces who attacked it in 1943 and 1944. The War
Cemetery was constructed on the site of a former camp for Australian, British
and Dutch prisoners of war, some of whom had been transferred from Java in 1943,
and many of those buried in it died in captivity. Other burials were of
Australian soldiers who died during the Japanese invasion on Ambon and Timor.
Soon after the war the remains of prisoners of war from Haruku and other camps
on the island were also removed to Ambon and in 1961, at the request of the
Indonesian Government, the remains of 503 graves in Makassar War Cemetery on the
island of Celebes were added to the cemetery. The total number of graves in the
cemetery is over 2,000. Of this total over half are Australians, of whom about
350 belonged to the 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion. Most of the 800
British casualties belonged to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force; nearly all
the naval dead were originally buried at Makassar. The American airmen were
killed with 7 Australian airmen in July 1945; all were buried in a collective
grave in Plot 28. The non-war grave is that of a seaman of the Merchant Navy,
whose death was not due to war service. The cemetery is laid out in a series of
terraces approached by short flights of steps on the central axis. The Ambon
Memorial, which is in the form of a shelter, stands on the first terrace. It
commemorates over 450 Australian soldiers and airmen who died in the region of
Celebes and the Molucca Islands and have no known grave. The Cross of Sacrifice
stands on the highest terrace in a wide expanse of lawn; the terrace below it
contains most of the burials from Makassar. All the graves are marked with
bronze plaques mounted on concrete pedestals and set in level turf. Tropical
trees and shrubs are planted throughout the cemetery and around its boundaries.
No. of
Identified Casualties: 1768 |
