A white concrete obelisk with a bronze plaque honouring Australians killed in the Japanese invasion of Malaya in 1940 at Kota Bharu.

Honours Australians killed in the opening battle of the war against Japan. Early in the war the Japanese Army was well aware of the significance of Malaya and began planning for an invasion in October 1940. It launched this operation with landings on the north-eastern coast of Malaya, at Kota Bharu, at 1.45 am on 8 December 1941; occurring 40 minutes earlier than the raids on Pearl Harbour this was the first major Japanese attack of the Second World War. Soon after, Japanese troops were also landed at Patani and Singora on the south-eastern coast of Thailand. The Kota Bharu landings developed into a drive down the eastern side of the Malay peninsula, while the troops landing in Thailand advanced down the western side. Badly organised defences in northern Malaya proved no match for the Japanese and in early January the British command decided to concentrate their efforts in southern Malay region of Johore.

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Kota Bharu, Malaysia.

Tenghu Aris (Royal Highness) Orchid Gardens.