General News
14 August, 2026
Horsham remembers joy, sacrifice of VP Day
Victory in the Pacific (VP Day) is commemorated worldwide on August 15, marking Japan’s acceptance of the Allied Nations’ terms of surrender and the end of hostilities in the Second World War.
Victory in the Pacific (VP Day) is commemorated worldwide on August 15, marking Japan’s acceptance of the Allied Nations’ terms of surrender and the end of hostilities in the Second World War.
Three months prior, Victory in Europe (VE Day) on May 8, 1945, marked the end of the war in Europe after five years of terror under the Nazi regime.
The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US, and Russia’s declaration of war against Japan, forced the Japanese Emperor Hirohito to surrender, and a formal ceremony followed on September 2.
Japan’s surrender marked the end of nearly six years of conflict for Australia, and three years of conflict in the Pacific region, with Australians serving in Singapore, Borneo, Malaya, Papua, New Guinea, and New Britain.
The Australian government gazetted a public holiday as VP Day; however, the governments of Britain, the US and New Zealand preferred the term VJ (Victory over Japan) Day.
The news of the Allied victory over Japan and the end of the Second World War was celebrated all across Australia.
The Horsham Times published on Friday, August 17, 1945, of the street parades upon the announcement of victory over Japan: ‘Horsham went wild with joy when the news of Japan’s surrender became known after days of suspense waiting for the official announcement.
The news, in some measure, took the town by surprise.
People were arriving at work when Mr (Clement) Atlee, the British Prime Minister from 1945-51, was concluding his dramatic announcement.
Residents took a while to realise that it was all over fully.
A few who had heard Mr Attlee’s broadcast excitedly told others and as the good news spread like wildfire, it was not long before the whole town stirred as never before in its history.
A motor car, its horn tooting loudly and continuously, and several exuberant youths sitting on the body raced up and down Firebrace and Wilson streets.
It was not long before others similarly displayed their joy.
Before shops closed for the day, they were besieged by hundreds of shoppers anxious to buy miniature flags and red, white, and blue ribbon.
From 10 o’clock onwards, crowds began to pour into Firebrace Street, where the celebrations reached their peak.
Both the Horsham Town and Pipe Bands turned out and wherever they went large crowds followed.
Some danced the Lambeth Walk to the music of the Pipe Band at the White Hart corner, and others joined hands and sang and danced when the Horsham Town Band played popular patriotic airs.’
Australia’s experience of WWII was vastly different from that of The Great War fought 25 years earlier, when Australia fought as an extension of the British Empire and forged a national identity through sacrifice at Gallipoli and on the Western Front.
In the early stages of WWII, Australia aligned with the British Empire once again, declaring war on Germany and its Allies on September 3, 1939, following Great Britain's declaration of war on Germany after the invasion of Poland on September 1.
Australia’s early deployments in the war were marked by the fighting in Greece and Crete, Syria, El Alamein, and the Siege of Tobruk, as well as thousands of RAAF personnel flying with Bomber Command over Germany.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbour by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, Australia's allegiance shifted to the US, establishing an important military relationship that would see Australian and US troops fighting side-by-side in campaigns, as well as US military operating out of Australia.
The experience of those on the home front also differed greatly from that of WWI, as life carried on relatively normally, with Australia far removed from the fighting fronts in Europe and the Middle East.
The Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia in WWII was the source of mass panic for the public and military in the enemy's proximity, resulting in desperate measures such as drawing the “Brisbane Line”; a controversial defence proposal where Australia was prepared to abandon north of Brisbane in the event of an enemy invasion to concentrate troops to protect industrial zones between Brisbane and Melbourne.
Moreover, the bombing of Darwin on February 19, 1942, brought the war to Australia’s doorstep, killing at least 235 people in the attack and wounding hundreds, as well as damaging local and military infrastructure.
The attack on Darwin wasn’t the only place on the mainland to be infiltrated; Australia’s top end experienced a total of 97 air raids by the Japanese, as well as a raid by three Japanese midget submarines in Sydney Harbour in May 1942.
Australia's engagement in WWII is marked by the significant number of POWs, prominently after the British surrender at the Battle of Singapore on February 15, 1942, resulting in some 15,000 Australians taken prisoner.
In Japanese captivity, Australians suffered unimaginable cruelties, facing starvation, disease and brutal beatings in labour camps and on the Thai-Burma Railway.
Roughly 22,000 Australians were taken prisoner by the Japanese in WWII, where 8,000 died in Japanese hands.
About 8,500 Australians were captured by Germany and Italy in Europe and North Africa, where around 250 died.
The Australians observed better conditions in the European POW camps than those captured by the Japanese, but still were subjected to manual labour and were at risk of Allied bombings.
Survivors of captivity suffered lifelong psychological and physical trauma, making it difficult to readjust back into civilian life due to a lack of public understanding of their suffering.
Today, on the 81st anniversary of VP Day, Australia reflects on those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in the Pacific theatre.
The Australians who endured the hell of the Kokoda Trail to stop the Japanese overland advance in Papua New Guinea, who fought to defend Singapore, and who perished in captivity on the Thai-Burma Railway.
Nearly a million Australians served in the armed forces during WWII.
Of those, some 40,000 never returned to their families, and more than 17,000 had lost their lives while fighting in the war against Japan.