page_title: Crown Colony of Labuan
section_title: World War II and decline
hierarchical_section_title: Crown Colony of Labuan / History / World War II and decline
caption_attribution_description: English: MEMBERS OF 24 INFANTRY BRIGADE MOVING ASHORE FROM THE LANDING SHIP, TANK (LST) 560, DURING THE OBOE 6 OPERATION LANDINGS ON THE ISLAND.
context_page_description: The Crown Colony of Labuan was a British Crown colony on the northwestern shore of the island of Borneo established in 1848 after the acquisition of the island of Labuan from the Sultanate of Brunei in 1846. Apart from the main island, Labuan consists of six smaller islands; Burung, Daat, Kuraman, Papan, Rusukan Kecil, and Rusukan Besar.
  Labuan was expected by the British to be a second Singapore, but it did not fulfill its promise especially after the failure of its coal production that did not become fruitful, causing investors to withdraw their money, leaving all machinery equipment and Chinese workers that had entered the colony previously. The Chinese workers then began involving themselves in other businesses with many becoming chief traders of the island's produce of edible bird's nest, pearl, sago and camphor, with the main successful production later being the coconut, rubber and sago.
  World War II brought the invasion of Japanese forces which abruptly ended British administration.
context_section_description: As part of the World War II, the Japanese navy anchored at Labuan on 3 January 1942 without being met by any strong resistance. Most treasury notes on the island had been burned and destroyed by the British to prevent them from falling into Japanese hands. The remaining Japanese forces then proceeded to Mempakul in the western coast of neighbouring North Borneo to strengthen their main forces there. Following the complete takeover of the rest of Borneo island, Labuan was ruled as part of the Empire of Japan and garrisoned by units of the Japanese 37th Army, which controlled northern Borneo. The island was renamed Maeda Island (前田島, Maeda-shima) after Marquis Toshinari Maeda, the first commander of Japanese forces in northern Borneo. The Japanese planned to construct two airfields on the island with eleven others to be located in different parts of Borneo. To achieve this, the Japanese brought approximately one hundred thousand Javanese forced labourers from Java to work for them.
  The liberation of the whole of Borneo began on 10 June 1945 when the Allied forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur and Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead landed at Labuan with a convoy of 100 ships. The 9th Australian Division launched an attack, with its 24th Brigade landing two battalions at the island southeast protrudance and the north side of Victoria Harbour on Brown Beach while being supported by massive air and sea bombardments. The landings were witnessed by MacArthur on board the USS Boise (CL-47) when he decided to proceed further south from the southern Philippines to Labuan. Following the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, Lieutenant General Masao Baba who was the last commander of the Japanese army in northern Borneo surrendered at the island's Layang-layang beach on 9 September 1945. He was then brought to the 9th Division headquarters on the island to sign the surrender document in front of the commander of the 9th Division, Major General George Wootten. The official surrender ceremony was held on the next day on 10 September at Surrender Point. The town of Victoria had been damaged by Allied bombings but was rebuilt after the war. The island assumed its former name and was under British Military Administration (BMA) along with the rest of the British territories in Borneo before joining the Crown Colony of North Borneo on 15 July 1946.
caption: Australian troops comprising the 24th Brigade landing on Labuan on 10 June 1945
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