8 July 2022
We made a short stopover at the Kundasang War Memorial after our visit to the Desa Dairy Farm.
Located at Kundasang, this memorial is dedicated to the British and Australian soldiers who died in the Sandakan Prisoner of War (POW) camp and during their death marches to Ranau. It also recognises the suffering and sacrifice of the people of North Borneo who risked their lives to help the POWs.
A plaque showing the locations of Sandakan and Ranau (in North Borneo) and the route of the Sandakan Death March.
There is a small fee imposed for visitors. As in most touristy place in Sabah, the entrance fees for foreigners (12 MYR/person) is higher than for locals (4 MYR/person).
After purchasing the tickets at the entrance, we walked up a small hill on a shaded and well paved path. A covered walkway with flags of Sabah, Malaysia, Australia and UK leads to a small hut with information, pictures, history and stories about the Death March.
Note: We missed going to the room to watch a brief video on the history of the Sandakan Death March.
A covered walkway with flags of Sabah, Malaysia, Australia and UK.
For me, the most interesting point of the visit was to read and learn more about the Sandakan Death March.
The Sandakan Death March were a series of forced marches in Borneo from Sandakan to Ranau (a distance of 260 km) enforced by the Japanese towards the end of World War II.
| “Between January and June 1945, approximately 500 prisoners died during three forced marches from Sandakan to Ranau. Rations were always inadequate, as was proper medical attntion. The prisoners ate whatever they could find in the jungle. As they fell out or fell behind, they were beaten with rifle butts and those unable to continue to walk were either shot, bayoneted, beheaded or simply left to die by the side of the track. Those too weak to begin the Marches had been left behind at Sandakan where they all died of illness or were killed. A similar fate was met by those who made it to Ranau.” |
Out of 2428 Australian and British POWs in Sandakan, only six Australians survived the death marches, all whom had escaped.
| “Two escaped into the jungle during one of the marches and were assisted by local people until they were picked up by Allied units. The other four escaped from Ranau and were assisted by local people, were fed and hidden from the Japanese until the end of war.” |
The graves of the perished are located in Labuan War Cemetery, not at this memorial.
The Memorial is made up of four beautiful gardens, namely the Australian Garden, the English Garden, the Borneo Garden and the Contemplation Garden and Pool, to represent the different nationalities.
The Australian Garden, with many beautiful staghorn ferns on the brick walls.
The English Garden which is a little untidy and in need of some maintenance has rose bushes.
The Borneo Garden has tropical plants and trees. Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the Borneo Garden.
The Contemplation Garden is a series of columns surrounding a reflective pool.
Rows of marble panels listing the prisoner’s name, age, origin, date and place of death were posted in the Contemplation Garden. The ages of the soldiers are mostly in the twenties and thirties and a few in the forties.
Beyond the Complation Garden is a small circular terrace with views of Mount Kinabalu and the town of Kundasang.
Overall, I found that I learned a little bit more of South East Asian and WW2 history through this short visit. The Kundasang War Memorial is also an ideal place to contemplate and remember the sacrifices, heroes and victims of war.
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