Location
Island group to the east of Shortlands.

History
Occupied by the Japanese early in the Solomons campaign. The Japanese held Fauro until the end of the war.

American Missions Against Fauro
May 6, 1943
(13th AF) B-24's carry out harassing strikes on Fauro Island.
January 5, 1944
(13th AF) B-24's attack Fauro Island

Kareki
Lat 6° 54' 0S  Long 156° 5' 60E  Village on the east coast of Fauro. Japanese built a water supply at this location that is still in use to this day. Post war, was the site of Australian run POW camp.

Post War & Japanese POW Area
Occupied by Australian 7 Infantry Battalion at the war in November 1945. At the end of the war, surviving Japanese troops from the Shortlands, and southern Bougainville were brought here as a concentration area for Japanese troops, to await transport back to Japan.

Kavakava Bay

Japanese Freighter
The wreck is reportedly at 50m depth, and often hard to find. Reportedly, it sometimes leaks traces of oil.

Toumoa Village
Destroyed during the war by air attacks. The villagers use an artillery shell as a bell to signal village activities.

Lawrence Kibule, resident of Fauro island reports:
After they surrendered, the Australians took 28,000 japanese to Fauro. They waited eight months for a boat to come and take them back to Japan, in two trips. Many died on Fasai, because they were sick, no medicine or weak. Often they [the Japanese] come back, to collect bones we help them to find.

Gareth Coleman adds:
"A good friend of mine is local to the island and his village has the north land about 1/2 of the island. What is interesting to me is the village. They always watch where they put fires and can only have small ones due too buried ammunition. He continually digs up containers filled with brown liquid and other small indiscriminate items. he also has talked of a dump with several jeeps trucks and other items. there is talk of a hospital concrete bas with plenty of tables with items vials etc. The most interesting is the several aircraft in the harbours plus a big transport sunk. Its chocka full of equipment. He says eight holds which is big. i have since confirmed this ship and have spoken to the only person who has dived it."

Allan Dickes adds:
"If you can get to see the original film “Godzilla” you will see that it opens on the Island of Fauro! Very explicitly, the camera zooms into a map, and there are the ‘savages’, amusing themselves with a complex “Western-movie “ type Indian war dance. The caged monster watches, his hatred growing! It would be interesting to know who chose that setting, because it was on Fauro that all the Japanese P.OW.s from the area! There were very few coconut trees left on the area they were held, which once was a large plantation; they were mostly cut down to get at the heart of palm salads! The ever-kindly people of Kareki would have done what they could, but it was a full time job for them to feed themselves, once the war had forced their reversion to a completely hunter-gathrer society. Their gardens were ravished and their canoes destroyed or damaged during the war."

P-40N Kittyhawk Serial Number NZ3166
Pilot Hutton crashed November 16, 1943 six miles south of Fauro

Contribute Information
Do you have photos or additional information to add?

Last Updated
October 6, 2009