Which Australian general signed Japan’s surrender instrument in 1945?

General Thomas Blamey signed Japan’s surrender instrument for Australia in 1945.

Blamey signed aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2 as the Australian representative among the Allied signatories. He signed after Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko of the Soviet Union and before Canada’s Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave.

Blamey was the senior Australian military commander during World War II and served as commander in chief of the Australian Military Forces. He had played a major role in Australia’s campaigns in the Middle East and the Pacific, as well as in the organization of Australian forces under Allied command.

His signature reflected Australia’s independent participation in the surrender ceremony. Although Australia was part of the British Commonwealth, its government insisted that it be represented separately rather than simply under the United Kingdom’s signature. Blamey later traveled to Morotai, where he personally accepted the surrender of remaining Japanese forces in the South West Pacific.