Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs, [1984]-

Call Number
Nef 362.86840994 VET
Created/Published
[Canberra] : [Dept. of Veterans' Affairs]
Issue
(August 1995)
Images
16
Notes
Inclues supplement '1945-1995 Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the end of World War II'
View Catalogue

Text

Vetaffairs  

NEWSPAPER FOR THE VETERAN COMMUNITY  

ISSN 0819-8934  

AUGUST 1995  

INSIDE THIS ISSUE  

RMA decision on skin cancer Page  

Risk factors for diabetes Page  

Where were you on VP Day? Page 4,9  

“Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels” helped win the war.... Page 10  

Vets gain access to alternative therapies Page 11  

PNG surveyors first reunion since war Page 12  

HOW AUSTRALIA WAS TOLD THE  

WAR WAS OVER  

"Let us remember those whose lives were given mat  

may enjoy this glorious moment and look forwarSdp thk  

peace which they have won for us ..."  

In the early hours of  

Wednesday August 15,  

1945, the Prime Minister  

Ben Chifley, in broad-  

cast to the nation, told the  

people of Australia that  

the war with Japan was  

over. These were his  

words:  

"Fellow Citizens: The war is  

over. The Japanese  

Government has accepted the  

terms of surrender imposed  

by the Allied nations and hos-  

tilities will now cease ... At  

this moment let us offer  

thanks to God.  

"Let us remember those  

whose lives were given that  

we may enjoy this glorious  

moment and look forward to  

the peace which they have  

won for us.  

"Let us remember those  

whose thoughts with proud  

sorrow turn towards gallant  

loved ones who will not come  

back.  

"On behalf of the people and  

the Government of Australia,  

offer humble thanks to the  

fighting men of the United  

Nations, where gallantry, sac-  

rifice and devotion to duty  

have brought us the victory.  

"Nothing can fully repay the  

debt we owe them, nor can  

history record in adequate  

terms their deeds from the  

black days that followed  

September 1939 and  

December 1941 until this  

moment.  

"We owe great deal to those  

men and women who per-  

formed miracles of produc-  

tion in secondary and primary  

industries so that the battle of  

supply could be won and  

massive effort achieved.  

"Materials, money and  

resources have been poured  

out so that the fighting men  

would not go short.  

"Australia's part, compara-  

tively, in terms of fighting  

men and supplies, ranks high,  

and the Australian people  

Crowds gather in Bourke Street Melbourne, August 15, 1945  

may be justly proud of every-  

thing they have done.  

"I am sure that you would like  

me to convey to the comman-  

ders of the fighting forces the  

warmest thanks for their skill,  

efficiency and great devotion.  

"Especially do mention  

General Douglas MacArthur,  

with whom we had so much  

in common and with whom  

we shared the dangers when  

Australia was so threatened  

with invasion."  

On August 6, the first atomic  

bomb had been dropped on  

Hiroshima; on August 9,  

second bomb was dropped on  

Nakasaki. The following day  

the Japanese announced that  

the Allied surrender terms  

were acceptable provided  

they did not affect the rights  

of the Emperor.  

The Americans, however,  

demanded that the authority  

k>f the Japanese Emperor and  

should be subject  

the Supreme Commander  

(91 the Allied Powers; on  

l4, the Emperor  

accepted these terms and the  

>jjjfa.r was over.  

Douglas MacArthur  

was appointed Supreme  

Commander in Japan and it  

was announced that Admiral  

Sir Bruce Fraser would repre-  

sent the British Prime  

Minister at the formal surren-  

der ceremony. The British  

Government hoped that  

Australia, New Zealand,  

Canada, and South Africa  

would arrange for senior  

officer to be attached to  

Admiral Fraser.  

Australia's Foreign Minister,  

Dr Evatt, suggested that  

Australia's representative  

should go in his own right and  

not as an appendage of  

Admiral Fraser.  

After some exchanges, it was  

agreed that representatives of  

Australia, Canada, Holland  

and France should sign the  

instrument of surrender in  

addition to representatives of  

the four major powers the  

US, the Soviet Union, Britain  

and China.  

On the morning of September  

2, 1945, the surrender was  

signed aboard the battleship  

USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.  

General Sir Thomas Blarney  

signed for Australia. The  

three Australian services were  

represented by Lieut General  

Berryman, Rear Admiral  

Moore, and Air Vice  

Marshal Bostock.  

With the end of the war, an  

immediate task for the  

Australian Government was  

to bring home the 14,340  

Australian prisoners held by  

the Japanese. They were the  

survivors from about 22,400  

Australians captured, mainly  

at Singapore, in February  

1942.  

AUSTRALIA REMEMBERS SUPPLEMENT INSIDE  

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http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1107888806

APA citation

Australia. Department of Veterans' Affairs. (). Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs, Retrieved May 25, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1107888806

MLA citation

Australia. Department of Veterans' Affairs. Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs, [Canberra]: [Dept. of Veterans' Affairs], . Web. 25 May 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1107888806>

Harvard/Australian citation

Australia. Department of Veterans' Affairs. , Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs, [Dept. of Veterans' Affairs], [Canberra] viewed 25 May 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1107888806

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  | author1=Australia. Department of Veterans' Affairs.
  | title=Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs
  | year=
  | section=v. : ill. ; 35-40 cm.
  | issn=0819-8934
  | issue=(August 1995)
  | location=[Canberra]
  | publisher=[Dept. of Veterans' Affairs]
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1107888806
  | id=nla.obj-1107888806
  | access-date=25 May 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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