Tawiri, Laha, Ambon. 7 December 1945. Headquarters building near Laha Wharf, Ambon, used ...

Tawiri, Laha, Ambon. 7 December 1945. Headquarters building near Laha Wharf, Ambon, used originally by the Dutch Air Force, then by C Company, 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion, and later, after 3 February 1942, by Japanese under Rear Admiral Hatakeyama. The road left proceeds north westerly to Laha Airfield, and the road right north easterly, to the village of Tawiri and the Lawa River. It is believed that the spot from which this photograph was taken is the position where Captain D. G. Perry stood to surrender the remnants of C Company, 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion and ancillaries on the morning of 3 February 1942, to the Japanese (Captain Hatakeyama, Lieutenant Wakabayashi, and interpreters Ikeuchi and Tetsuka). Major M. W. H. Newbury, who was Commanding Officer of C Company, 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion, at Laha, had already fallen into the hands of Japanese on the previous day. Behind the photographer's back, a matter of 50 to 100 yards, is the small concrete causeway and wharf for Laha Airfield, on the lovely bay of Ambon.