Haikou, Peoples Republic of China Sister City

Initial investigations for a sister city affiliation with a city in the People's Republic of China began in February 1987 through Lord Mayor Alec Fong Lim, the Australian-China Friendship Society and Council's Sister City Management Committee. At the time Xiamen and Haikou, Hainan Island were being considered, the final decision being made in 1989 based on the cities historical links, with the assistance of the Australian and Chinese Ambassadors, the Friendship Associations and the Chung Wah Society.

The affiliation with Haikou was established in 1990 and in a very short time the beginnings of a student exchange program commenced with two students from Darwin visiting Haikou to study in early 1992. The exchange program became fully reciprocal when, in April 1993, five Haikou students came to Darwin for twelve months. Through the generosity of the community, they were home hosted and began studies at Darwin High School. Two completed advanced English studies at the Northern Territory University. To date seventeen Darwin students have benefited from studies in Haikou and eighteen Haikou students have been involved in the reciprocal exchange program. In 1997, sixteen athletes from Haikou participated in the Arafura Games in Darwin and won gold medals in both table tennis and field events.

The Gull Force Memorial Project was conceived in the mid 90's to provide a tangible, meaningful project that would build on the original reasons for developing the sister city relationship between Darwin and Haikou. The project was concluded in 2003 when two sister commemorative plaques were laid in honour of the men and women, who suffered in captivity at the hands of the Japanese in World War II on Hainan Island. The Gull Force, 266 Australian soldiers, fell into the hands of the Japanese while defending Ambon and were relocated to a POW camp to work as slave labour on Hainan Island from 1942 to 1945.

The Australian plaque was laid in Bicentennial Park, Darwin, Northern Territories of Australia on Sister Cities Day, 5 July 2003. The dedication service was conducted in accordance with military ceremony and consideration of respective cultural tradition.

On 14 September 2003 the sister memorial dedication ceremony took place on Hainan Island and a Mayoral delegation including a Gulf Force survivor traveled from Darwin to take part in the ceremony. The plaque was mounted on a rock close to the site of the POW camp, adjacent to the burial site of two POW escapees close to Dong Fang City. The ceremony was attended by delegation members, the Lord Mayor of Dong Fang, Haikou Foreign Affairs Officials, community members and surviving residents of the village that serviced the POW camp during the Japanese occupation. A video of each ceremony was produced to record the historic occasions.

The laying of the plaques represented the culmination of years of collaborative work between the sister cities of Darwin and Haikou which resulted in both cities, from Lord Mayors to community members, building close relationships and a joint appreciation for their shared history.