Sandakan Memorial Park — Attraction in Sabah

I discovered the word Sandakan as a young boy when i found letters from the POW camp in my grandmothers draw. Uncle lins photo was always on the mantlepiece in our home but i didn't know about Sandakan. That's the point.... no one knew much.Uncle lin Williamson NX40836 was mourned every day of their life but thanks to the Australian Government the details were deliberate suppressed . To walk into the Memorial park was an honour and privilege. I could feel the ghosts of my family with me as all are gone now. Its a beautiful place and sacred to the families of the boys who didnt make it back to Australia and to the citizens of Sandakan who risked their lives to help the Prisoners of War. Prisoners of war what a term for real slave labour. They worked in the Airfield and as the war progressed the food was cut and beatings more severe. The death marches in 1945 started here but Robert was too sick to go on the third death march so he was left out in the open died of Malaria but really died of starvation and thrown with his mates in a trench. His body is buried in an unmarked grave on Labuan island. I bought soil leaves an Australian badge and pine needles from the farm he grew up and loved and buried it in the memorial with many tears and prayers. its encased in Resin so it will last a long time. a bit of Australia is in Sandakan for ever and placing it there was one of the greatest days of my life. Thanks to all who made this pilgrimage possible and to the staff of the memorial park who work to keep...

This is a memorial site built as a remembrance for those who died during the Borneo death march and it is also a memorial place for the natives who had sacrificed and suffered during those dark days. This site is the actual POW (prisoners of war) camp back at WWII. We visited here yesterday and we saw a lot of peoples utilized this place for their evening walk and also exercise. This place have concrete pathway and also is well managed as the lawn is well-manicured. Less garbages fleeing because they provide garbage bins along the way. There is also "pondok" near a pond filled with lilies, for you to sit and enjoy the scenery. You can see turtles and also fishes clearly in the pond. As you walk through the concrete pathway, you will encounter a few plaques filled with informations on what did happen at that particular site. Don't miss the Sandakan War Memorial Commemorative Pavillion, here you can see walls filled with historical documents , maps and so on that tells the story of Sandakan POW's camp and the death march to Ranau. A really nice place to visit, you can bring your parents, childrens or even friends to this place. Even if it's a sunny day, you can still walk around the park without getting any sunburn because the park is filled with trees . This place is really tranquil for the mind and soul. Recommended 👍 ~Lest We Forget , for those who leave but never return, for those who return but are...

Looking at Sandakan city today you wouldn't say it went through a dark history less than 100 years ago, but unfortunately it did

• The Japanese army established a POW (prisoner of war) camp and by the end of the WWII, 1793 Australians and 641 British soldiers died here during the Sandakan Death Marches, where only 6 Australians survived

• The soldiers were forced to march to Ranau, about 250 km away, enduring exhaustion, starvation, disease, torture and execution

• Sandakan Memorial Park, located ~ 12km away from the city centre, is where the camp used to be located

• There is a path you can follow to visit the site which isn't too big. There are informative panels to read more about the history of the place, and an old excavator, a steam generator.

• Stick to the path as from the entrance you will notice a panel mentioning there are cobras, pythons, giant monitor lizards, bees, wasps, hornets, scorpions, etc.

• Overall there isn't much to see, so it's an additional effort to come here for a maximum of 30 minutes of walk around.

• To reach the park there is public transportation from Terminal Bas Mini Sandakan (as shown on google maps). Take any minivan with number 8 or above and tell the driver where you wanna go. One way trip costs 3 RM.

• Open daily, from 8 am - 5 pm

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