The surrender came as no surprise in the aftermath of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9, respectively.
Herald headlines after the atomic bombs were dropped included:
But those pre-VJ Day celebrations were described as “mere pipe-openers” by the Herald.
On VJ Day “the public of Gisborne let themselves go”.
Rural residents, who had swelled the jubilant crowds the night before, returned to town.
“The lower portions of Gladstone Road were cleared of vehicular traffic and once again the celebrants made the fullest use of the free rein given to their high spirits.”
Four bands took turns occupying the Gladstone Road-Peel Street intersection.
Impromptu processions formed and marched along the street cheering and singing.
Human chains were formed while Tipperary and other songs were sung.
Maori Battalion was a favourite and Boy from Down Under “with its equally stirring rhythm ran it a close second”.
Songs from the Boer War were also “resurrected”.
Police described the crowds as well- behaved with the exception of a car stolen from Bright Street and later found at the wharf.
There was little evidence that alcohol abuse marred “the uninhibited outpouring of the relief and joy which the occasion inspired”.
That was a major difference from Auckland where people threw bottles and smashed windows. By evening, 51 people had been taken to hospital and 15 tons of glass lay in the roads.
In some cities the end of the war was marked by sirens. There were numerous parades, bands, thanksgiving services, bonfires, dances and community sports. Beer flowed in many centres and there were streamers, whistles and dancing in the streets.
Other Herald headlines showed VJ Day was A Day of Relief (for Christchurch) and Wellington was described as a Gay Capital.
In Wellington, Mr Attlee's speech was immediately followed by ships' sirens, factory whistles and motor horns in a “screaming chorus”.
(VJ Day was a Wednesday in 1945).
The Wellington public poured into the streets and hotel bars did a fine trade and telephone lines were jammed.
Back in Gisborne the tragedy of war was still being reported in the Herald.
The Roll of Honour for August 15 recorded one serviceman had died of his injuries, three were presumed dead, two had been killed in accidents, two were missing and two were prisoners of war.
The following day's Gisborne Herald editorial said:
“We victors have turned on the nations which broke the peace in two hemispheres with a fury that made conquest complete to the last detail. But it was a righteous fury.
“We have had to suppress cruelty in its vilest form and liberate nations which for too long have writhed under the jackboot of the invader. Further we have been fighting for our very own existence.”
The Gisborne Herald remembered how close the country came to being invaded in 1942.
“Neither Australians nor New Zealanders must ever forget what they owe to American daring and efficiency which have been quite in keeping with the Anzac tradition.”
The New Zealand population in 1940 was approximately 1.6 million.
About 140,000 New Zealand men and women served in the war, 104,000 in 2NZEF, the rest in the British or New Zealand naval or air forces.
Fatal casualties during the conflict numbered 11,928 Kiwis, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
