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For 3⁄2 years Tawau and the rest of the country remained under the Japanese occupation until being finally liberated by units of North Australian Division, who landed in Labuan on 10 June 1945. B.B.C.A.U., the British Military Administration of North Borneo found the Colony in a state of devastation. Like all other major towns in the Colony, Tawau was destroyed or damaged by bombing and fire.
During the Japanese occupation, many of the inhabitants were massacred, among them a large number of government servants. The British Military Administration continued until 15 July 1946, when civil government was resumed. A lot of pre-war records were destroyed. The emphasis in the immediate post war period was concerned with rehabilitation and reconstruction. A reconstruction and development plan for the years 1945–1955 was adopted in 1948. There were many programmes in the field of social services. The Tawau Town Board was constituted in 1955 with control over its own finances and local authorities
