ABSTRACT
In 2008 one of the national newspapers in Solomon Islands ran a story with the headline ‘Vandalism to Japanese War Monument,’ followed the next day by a story titled ‘Vandalism Blow to Tourism in Solomons: Bureau General Manager.’ These articles reported the ill-fated escapade of would-be thieves who attempted to carry off a rather massive bronze sculpture that adorned the Japanese Peace Memorial perched near the top of Mt Austen overlooking the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara. 1 With the intention of selling the bronze for scrap metal, the thieves removed the statue from its base and managed to carry it about 200 metres down the mountain road towards a nearby settlement area before abandoning their project and leaving the sculpture by the side of the road. 2
I recall this incident here to introduce the question of local signifi cance of war memorials and monuments that mark the battlefi elds of Guadalcanal surrounding the capital city of Honiara (see Figure 11.1). Despite the fact that the very existence of Honiara derives from the war, 3 Solomon Islanders today are more likely to think of the Pacifi c War as ‘not our war’ and know little of its military history (Zoleveke 1988). Whereas an act of vandalism such as the statue theft may in itself have little meaning, the fact that the general manager of the Solomon Islands Visitor Bureau felt the need to remind his fellow citizens that ‘these monuments represent historical events which visitors to Solomon Islands would want to see’ suggests that the Japanese memorial, like others installed by United States, Australian, British or New Zealand interests, may have more to do with visitors’ interests than those of Solomon Islanders. Although the general manager did note that ‘the monument is a landmark in the country’s [Solomon Islands’] history’, he emphasized that it is there to ‘honour those who have lost their loved ones during the Second World War’, noting that every year Japanese attend ceremonies there to honour their war dead. 4
It is certainly the case that war memorials in Guadalcanal have largely been the initiative of foreign powers. In part this is related to the resources and strong commemorative cultures of the militaries that fought the war, including veterans groups (in the United States, Australia and New Zealand) and bereaved families organizations (in Japan). In the 1980s and especially
the 1990s during the period of WWII fi ftieth anniversaries, war veterans supported by national militaries, veterans associations, and government agencies were active in building, dedicating and visiting memorial sites throughout the Pacifi c, participating in joint (transnational) commemorative events held at island battle sites. But the dominance of foreign initiatives is also the result of a certain lack of interest among Solomon Islanders to commemorate the war in terms of Allied and Japanese military narratives.
