War sights in Papua New Guinea
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Admiral Yamamoto's aircraft wreck
Admiral Yamamoto's aircraft wreck is the area's most historically interesting wreck. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbour, left Rabaul in a 'Betty Bomber' on 18 April 1943 with a protective group of Zeros, not realising that US fighters were waiting for him near Buin. The wreckage of the bomber still lies in the jungle a few kilometres off the Panguna-Buin road. It's signposted, near Aku, 24km before Buin.
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WWII Dump
Towards the end of WWII the area was used as a staging post for US troops and vast numbers of GIs passed through. The war's abrupt end left millions of dollars worth of aircraft and equipment redundant, so the whole lot was bulldozed into a huge hole; ask at Dregerhafen High School, about 4km south of Gagidu Station, for directions.
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Buin
About 260km south of Buka, Buin really feels the end of the line. It suffered less damage than Kieta and Arawa during the conflict. During WWII, Buin hosted a large Japanese army base and the area has many rusting relics. The Japanese had plans to resettle a huge number of civilian Japanese at an area called Little Tokyo.
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War relics
War relics, including the scattered remains of a couple of planes, can be seen near Butia Lodge; ask the gatekeeper to show you around.
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