Location
Lat 6° 58' 60S Long 155° 52' 60E  Ballale Island is a small island south of Bougainville and north of Shortland.

There are several different spellings for this island, all pronounced the same and referring to this island. In the 1880s the name of the island was incorrectly recorded as 'Ballalei', Locally, the island is spelling of 'Ballalai' or 'Balalai'. During the British colonial era and until at least 1956, the island was spelled 'Ballalae'. During World War II, the Allies referred to the island as 'Ballale'.

Prewar History
'Ballale' means border place in the local language. This island was uninhabited as long as people can remember. To locals, it was considered 'sacu-sacu' (haunted). Supposedly, war parties from Buka would used the uninhabited island as a stopping off point after headhunting raids on Choiseul, to cannibalize their victims. Also, a strange blue light was often observed over the island. Therefore, the island was avoided, and no one lived there.

Englishman Sam Atkinson purchased the island as free-hold owner in 1901. He built a productive 307 acre copra plantation. When he died in 1931, his wife Edith continued to manage it. Even as the war approached, she remained on Ballale, finally evacuating in early 1942 before the Japanese arrived in the Shortlands. The island's haunted legacy would continue during the war year.

Wartime History
The Japanese Navy 18th Construction Battalion arrived on the island on November 3, 1942 to begin building an airstrip with a contingent of 370 people, augmented later by 517 British POWs and local laborers.

Ballale Airfield (Ballale, Ballalai)
Spans the length of the island, built by Japanese

Allied Missions Against Ballale
January 16, 1943 - May 28, 1944

The island was bypassed by the Allies. After the war, the Australian Army 7th Infantry Battalion, including Lt. General V. A. H. Sturdee (1st Army) and Brigadier A. W. Potts (23 Infantry Brigade) toured the island on November 10, 1945. Australians immediately located the grave of 57 POWs buried in shallow trenches. An atrocities commission was carried out on the island, that led to the discovery of a mass grave of 436 bodies were exhumed with artifacts identifying them as British artillerymen. The remains were re-interred in individual graves at Bomama War Cemetery near Port Moresby. The remainder of the 517 British POWs have never been found.

F4U-1A Corsair Bureau Number 17127
MIA over Ballale, September 16, 1943

TBF-1 Avenger Bureau Number 06452
Pilot Croker (taken POW) MIA September 16, 1943

TBF-1 Avenger Bureau Number 23909
Pilot Hahn MIA September 16, 1943

SBD-5 Dauntless Bureau Number 35976
Pilot Whitely MIA December 1, 1943

SBD-5 Dauntless Bureau Number 11002
Pilot Paris MIA December 1, 1943

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Last Updated
October 16, 2009

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