From War to Friendship

This week Darwin High School was fortunate enough to receive a visit from members of the Chiba Family, descendants of one of the submariners who perished in the I-124 Japanese submarine sinking on the 20th of January, 1942 off the coast of the Northern Territory.

Eighty Japanese submariners died when the submarine sank and last year to commemorate the 75^th Anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin, the Australian Japanese Association of the NT with the assistance of Dr Tom Lewis OAM had a plaque placed at Dripstone Cliffs to commemorate the I-124 crew.

This year members of the Chiba family, Mr. Shichiro Chiba, Mrs Tazuko Chiba and their son, flew from Japan to attend the Bombing of Darwin service to pay their respects to those fallen during the bombing of Darwin.

The Chiba family were kind enough to sit in on one of Darwin High School’s five Japanese language classes, giving the students an opportunity to practise their language skills and learn more about the Japanese culture.