page_title: Japanese occupation of British Borneo
section_title: Japanese surrender
hierarchical_section_title: Japanese occupation of British Borneo / Aftermath / Japanese surrender
caption_attribution_description: English: LABUAN ISLAND. 1945-09-10. MAJOR GENERAL (MAJ GEN) G. F. WOOTTEN, GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING, 9TH DIVISION, ACCEPTED THE SURRENDER OF ALL JAPANESE FORCES FROM LIEUTENANT GENERAL (LT GEN) MASAO BABA, SUPREME COMMANDER JAPANESE FORCES IN BORNEO AND COMMANDER 37 JAPANESE ARMY, IN A SURRENDER CEREMONY HELD AT HEADQUARTERS 9TH DIVISION. SHOWN, LT GEN BABA SIGNING THE INSTRUMENT OF SURRENDER WATCHED BY MAJ GEN WOOTTEN.
context_page_description: Before the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories. Four of the territories were in the north and under British control – Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, an island, and British North Borneo; while the remainder, and bulk, of the island, was under the jurisdiction of the Dutch East Indies.
  On 16 December 1941, Japanese forces landed at Miri, Sarawak having sailed from Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina. On 1 January 1942, the Japanese navy landed unopposed in Labuan. The next day, 2 January 1942, the Japanese landed at Mempakul on North Borneo territory. After negotiations as to the surrender of Jesselton with the Officers-in-charge of Jesselton and waiting for troop reinforcements, Jesselton was occupied by the Japanese on 8 January. However, it took the Japanese until the end of the month to conquer the entire territory of British Borneo. The Japanese subsequently renamed the northern part as North Borneo, Labuan as Maida Island and the neighbouring Dutch territories as South Borneo. For the first time in modern history all of Borneo was under a single rule.
  British Borneo was occupied by the Japanese for over three years.
context_section_description: After the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945 Lieutenant General Masao Baba, commander of Japanese forces in northern Borneo, surrendered at Layang-layang beach of Labuan on 9 September. He was then brought to the headquarters of Australian 9th Division, where at the official surrender ceremony on 10 September he signed the surrender document and handed over his sword to the divisional commander, Major General George Wootten. The location became known as Surrender Point.
  It was estimated that around 29,500 Japanese remained on the island. 18,600 belonged to the IJA, 10,900 to the IJN. The greatest concentrations of Japanese troops were in the interior. There were some Japanese who refused to surrender and moved further inland. After calls from Lieutenant general Baba they also surrendered. The Japanese repatriation following the surrender took several months, delayed due to lack of shipping. It was supervised by the Australians as Borneo along with New Guinea, Papua and the Solomon Islands were under their authority. Australian forces also supervised the destruction of Japanese weapons and ammunition and the evacuation of internees and Allied POWs from Japanese camps.
  The British Military Administration (BMA) took over the task of management from the Australians on 12 September 1945 and summarised the situation towards the end of October:
  In North Borneo and Labuan the destruction of coastal townships was almost total, and in Brunei the shop quarter and many Government buildings were completely destroyed. The oilfields at Seria in Brunei were also heavily damaged, the last well fire there having been extinguished on the 27th September.... Brunei and Labuan, Miri, Beaufort and Weston which were focal points in the attack suffered heavily from preliminary bombardments. Bintulu was deserted and the airstrip there had been entirely destroyed. Kuching, apart from minor damage in the bazaar area was practically untouched. In Sibu the town area was severely damaged.... Both Jesselton and Sandakan in particular were heavily damaged...
  The observation revealed that despite the destruction caused by the Allied bombardments, there were few Japanese casualties. Widespread malnutrition and disease amongst the population was caused by acute food shortages. In response the BMA provided food and medical supplies and reconstructed the public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, the rail network, sewerage and water supplies.
caption: Baba signs the surrender document in Labuan, British Borneo, being watched by Australian Major General George Wootten and other Australian units on 10 September 1945
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