Grave Locations - Indonesia
Total Australian Commemorations in Indonesia: 1,654 + 5 Australians in Other Allied Units
RED - this indicates those cemeteries that have been completed.
BLUE - this indicates those cemeteries that have been offered for completion
BLACK - this indicates those cemeteries that have yet to be completed.
Status Current as of the 4th July 2008
Cemetery/Memorial
|
No.
|
Volunteer
|
Status
|
AMBON MEMORIAL |
444 |
David Evans |
Complete |
AMBON WAR CEMETERY |
1,100 (Known 783, Unknown 317) |
- |
Photos required |
DJAKARTA WAR CEMETERY |
96 (Known 88, Unknown 8) |
Pak Sulis Indiarto & the Defence & Cultural Sections, Australian Embassy - Jakarta
|
Complete |
JAKARTA (ANCOL) NETHERLANDS FIELD OF HONOUR |
14 (Known 5, Unknown 9) |
Pak Sulis Indiarto & the Defence & Cultural Sections, Australian Embassy - Jakarta
|
Complete |
-
|
|||
Australians Serving in Other Allied Units |
|||
AMBON WAR CEMETERY |
1 |
David Evans |
Complete |
DJAKARTA WAR CEMETERY |
4 |
Pak Sulis Indiarto & the Defence & Cultural Sections, Australian Embassy - Jakarta
|
Complete |
CEMETERY/MEMORIAL DETAILS
AMBON MEMORIAL, Indonesia
Location:
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). The Ambon Memorial, which is in the form of a shelter, stands on the first terrace in Ambon War Cemetery (known locally as the Australian Cemetery), which 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 lies 5 kilometres north-east of Ambon on the main road to Galala. The Ambon Memorial was constructed on the site of a former prisoner of war camp, and commemorates over 440 officers and men of the Australian forces who have no known grave. Of these, nearly 300 belonged to the Australian Army and over 150 to the Royal Australian Air Force; they lost their lives in Ambonia, in other islands of the Molucca group and in Celebes. 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. The Memorial stands on a lawn terrace at the front of the cemetery and is approached by a broad flight of steps on the central drive leading from the entrance gates. It is in the form of a shelter building with the roof supported on columns and with bronze name panels affixed to the inside walls. In the centre of the building a low altar-like stone contains the Register box and bears a bronze panel with the following inscription: 1939 - 1945 HERE ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF OFFICERS AND MEN WHO DIED IN THE REGIONS OF THE CELEBES AND MOLUCCA ISLANDS ON LAND AT SEA AND IN THE AIR BUT TO WHOM THE FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED THE KNOWN AND HONOURED BURIAL GIVEN TO THEIR COMRADES IN DEATH.
Visiting Information:
The gates to the Cemetery are normally kept locked but entry can be made through the side entrance and the resident head gardener's accommodation. A notice to this effect is situated outside the main cemetery gates.
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.
AMBON WAR CEMETERY, Indonesia
Location:
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.
Visiting Information:
The gates to the Cemetery are normally kept locked but entry can be made through the side entrance and the resident head gardener's accommodation. A notice to this effect is situated outside the main cemetery gates.
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.
JAKARTA (ANCOL) NETHERLANDS FIELD OF HONOUR, Indonesia
Location:
The cemetery is adjacent to the Ancol recreation centre, through which visitors to the cemetery must pass. Most burials are in mass graves: in each register entry the Roman numeral indicates the mass grave and the arabic number the location of the symbolic marker on which the casualty is commemorated.
Historical Information:
There are 131 Commonwealth burials of the 1939-1945 war commemorated here, 73 of which are unidentified.
JAKARTA WAR CEMETERY, Indonesia
Location:
Jakarta (Djakarta) lies on the north-west coast of the island of Java. Djakarta War Cemetery is in the suburb of Menteng Poeloe, 11 kilometres from the city centre and is adjacent to the Netherlands Field of Honour, Jakarta Selatam (South Jakarta). It can be reached by two main roads - Jalan Dr Saharto and Jalan Casablanca. The Cemetery is entered on the northern side by a short flight of steps leading into the Memorial building. The entrance faces the old civilian cemetery where hawkers from the local market often spill out, partly blocking access to the
cemetery. The local name for the cemetery is Makam Perang Jakarta.
Historical Information:
Jakarta, the capital of the Republic of Indonesia, lies on the north-west coast of the island of Java. It was the administrative capital of the former Netherlands East Indies and was known as Batavia, the name used in the records of the 1939-1945 War. Batavia was the port by which thousands of British and Commonwealth servicemen entered Java in February 1942 from Singapore and Sumatra, shortly before the Japanese invasion of the island. It was defended by Nos. 232 and 605 (Fighter) Squadrons from Tjililitan airfield, a few miles distant. Although
greatly outnumbered and dwindling in strength, the fighters remained in action in defence of the capital from 17th-27th February. The 77th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment was also employed in Batavia's defence. On 25th February H.M.S. Exeter, Electra, Encounter and Jupiter and H.M.A.S Perth sailed from Batavia to join the Eastern Striking Force at Sourabaya before meeting the Japanese in the Battle of the Java Sea (see page iv). On 1st March the Japanese landed near Batavia, by the 4th the Dutch had ordered its evacuation, and on the 5th the Japanese occupied the town. Most of the Allied prisoners of war captured in Java were later concentrated in a number of prison camps around Batavia, one of the largest being "Bicycle Camp", so named because it had been the barracks of a Dutch cycle battalion. The camp held among its first prisoners 300 survivors of H.M.A.S. Perth, and 250 soldiers of the 2/15th Punjab Regiment who had fought in Borneo. In 1961 at the request of the Indonesian
Government, the Commonwealth dead from the Netherlands Field of Honour at Sourabaya, and from those at Palembang, Medan and Muntok in Sumatra, were brought into the cemetery, which already contained 474 Commonwealth war graves. Additional land was acquired to accommodate all the graves, and the total number of burials was increased to over 1,000. Jakarta War Cemetery therefore contains the graves of many who died in defence of Java and Sumatra during the swift Japanese advance in 1942 and many others who perished afterwards as prisoners of war. Among the dead were sailors who fought in the Battle of the Java Sea, soldiers of "Blackforce" including a number of Australians whose graves lie together in plot 6, and airmen who died in flying battle and airfield defence. The cemetery is entered on its northern side by a short flight of steps leading into a memorial building. Two main grass avenues cross the site, one running north-south and one east-west, and the Cross of Sacrifice stands at their intersection. The graves of members of the forces of undivided India lie on a terrace in the
southern part of the cemetery. Here an Indian Forces monument has been set up; it is a stone pillar crowned by a sculptured wreath and bearing wreaths on two sides, with "INDIA" inscribed below one and "PAKISTAN" below the other. The graves are marked by bronze plaques set in concrete pedestals. The cemetery is covered with turf and planted with many colourful sub-tropical trees and shrubs.
(Information: Commonwealth War Graves Commission)
Please contact the Archive Director for details and photographic requirements
australianwargraves@bigpond.com