Ouvéa Memorial

The large memorial in Wadrilla is a tribute to 19 Kanaks who died in 1988, when French military personnel stormed a cave to free French gendarmes being held hostage by the pro-independence movement. Tragically, pro-independence leaders Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Yeiwene Yeiwene were assassinated opposite the memorial at the first-year memorial ceremony. The perpetrator believed they had ceded too much to France. The names and faces of the 19 are inscribed on the impressive memorial.