Welcome to
The South Pacific WWII Museum

From the birthplace of Tales of the South Pacific and the service of three American Presidents – including a First Lady from another – and the heroic actions of young aviators, soldiers, and sailors that became legendary, emerges a forgotten wartime history that many have overlooked and others are unaware of.

Base Button, located on the peaceful island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu, transformed tranquil coconut plantations into the largest military base in the South Pacific during World War II. This base hosted over 500,000 service men and women throughout the war.

Now, we are sharing this history with the descendants of those who supported the Allied war effort in the Pacific. Our plan is to expand into a new world-class museum building, preserving and passing on the remarkable history of the region formerly known as New Hebrides to future generations of Ni-Vanuatu and visitors from around the world.

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Honouring the many

Latest news from the Museum project.

USS Strong takes centre stage

The Museum has created a very special memorial to commemorate the 46 lives lost when the US Navy destroyer, USS Strong sank off the Solomon Islands in July 1943. You can read more about the memorial here.

News in brief

Oct 4 – It’s been a frantic month for Marina and the team at the Museum, with a record five cruise ships docking in Luganville in September. Around 500 passengers came to visit us, still making the museum the number one tourist destination in town. Lots of interesting feature stories this month focusing on the World War II history of Espiritu Santo. From bombsights to Boyington, and even a ship that hit a mine but sailed on to dock in Luganville. All this and more in this month’s newsletter that you can find here.

August newsletter cover

Sept 6 – An interesting month at the museum, with lots going on in the background, including lots more planning following an epic 5-hour board meeting. This month’s newsletter certainly has a Guadalcanal feeling about it, given it’s the 80th anniversary of the famous battle. In fact one story comes from an amateur historian predicting the outcome while the other, the US Navy’s official historian, documents it. There’s also a story about George the cat, a battleship dwelling companion, paralympic heroes and much more. All this and more in this month’s newsletter that you can find here.

August newsletter cover

Aug 5 – July was a very special month for the museum. Tammi Johnson joined us from Kentucky to unveil the new USS Strong memorial. It has been created by the Museum to remember the 46 sailors who went down with the ship in July 1943. We’ve also got a great story on two amazing dives by Museum board member Mayumi Green and her husband Kevin on a Catalina and a WWII tugboat. Plus, we’re re-running the remarkable story of Hugh Barr Miller Jr. A Strong survivor who went on to fight Japanese forces single handedly, on a small island, before being rescued. All this and more in this month’s newsletter that you can find here.

July newsletter cover

Jul 5 – The June issue of our museum newsletter has just come out and features lots of news from Santo. We share in the great news that Solomon Airlines will again be flying the Brisbane/Luganville route, allowing tourists to fly here direct! We have also had a new intern join us from the United States who’s really ‘mucking in’ and making some fantastic changes to our exhibits. Plus some great work by New Zealand Navy divers and more great reading in this month’s Museum newsletter you’ll find  here. June newsletter cover
Jun 4 – Luganville is very quiet since the demise of Air Vanuatu – that includes us. But we’ve kept things moving along and Marina has ensured the visitors we do get, are given the ‘Rolls Royce’ tour by herself and Lyn. Our May newsletter features a new wreck that has been reported to us in the jungle! That’s very exciting. We’re also featuring a story of Rosie the Riveter – or at least the real Rosie, not the one you probably know. There’s a great story on the Naval Air Transportation Service, plus lots more great reading. We hope you enjoy it Read or download the complete issue here.   May newsletter cover
May 3 – A very busy month for the museum. We had many VIP visitors come through the museum as the 2024 Heads of Missions meeting was taking place in Santo. We were privileged to be asked to speak at the meeting, which gave us the rare opportunity to sell the museum to many countries with diplomatic missions in Vanuatu. We also had a separate visits from the US Ambassador to Vanuatu, as well as the Lord Mayor and Town Clerk of Luganville. Those stories and lots more interesting reading in this month’s April newsletter. We hope you enjoy it Read or download the complete issue here. April newsletter cover
April 3 – We lead off our March issue on a somewhat sad note, following the passing of Museum board member and Santo identity Mary O’Reilly. She was a wonderful woman and contributed greatly to the fabric of Luganville and will be dearly missed by many people. There’s also a great story on the restoration of a rare P-40 that was pulled out of Vanuatu some time ago, restored and continues to do the rounds of air shows and displays Australia-wide. We also deep dive into the island’s WWII history with an article about a local French landowner who gave up a large chunk of his land so that Bomber #1 could be built, and more in this month’s newsletter. Read or download the complete issue here. March newsletter cover
March 3 – Our February newsletter has just dropped. It’s been another busy month for the museum with our new exhibition space drawing people in from all over the world – the three cruise ships that visited us, certainly contributed to that. We have some great photos featuring some of our visitors. There are also some humorous anecdotes about little known local Robie Robertson whose property on Big Bay was considered for a fighter airfield during WWII. Plus, the donation of liquid gold for the museum’s fundraising from someone close to the museum family. Read or download the complete issue here. February newsletter cover
February 3 – Our January newsletter is out now and what a way to start the year. We opened our new extension to great excitement, effectively doubling the size of the museum. That story kicks off this month’s newsletter. We also featuring some new donations this month including some beautiful components from Corsair and SBD aircraft. And a hilarious story about Condom Airways – it was almost our national carrier! Plus, lots more great reading in this month’s Museum newsletter. Read or download the complete issue here. January newsletter cover

New Museum gallery opens

The new Museum Gallery continues to wow visitors from all over the world. (story)

Say hi to Raymond Lemy Nacisse

Our newest Museum staff member comes from a diverse background of volunteering. (story)

Swire Shipping donates container

The generous support of the global shipping giant will assist our expansion plans. (story)

The South Pacific WWII Museum and Project Office is now open.
Visit us Monday – Friday from 8.00am – 5.00pm.

Retracing Vanuatu's wartime history
Proudly supported by
the Vanuatu Government

VISIT US

South Pacific

World War II Museum
Unity Park, Main Street
Luganville, Espiritu Santo
Vanuatu

OPENING HOURS
Monday to Friday
8am – 4pm
Plus Cruise Ship days

TELEPHONE
+678 553 7000

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EMAIL

[email protected]

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Copyright © 2024 SOUTH PACIFIC WWII MUSEUM | The South Pacific WWII Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organisation. Donations are tax-deductible.

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