The 2/16th Battalion left the Gona battlefield with less than 50 'fit' men.  They were sent to the Atherton Tableland in Queensland to rest and re-equip.  Much needed reinforcements came form the break-up of Colonel Harry Murray's 16th Motor Regiment.   That unit was disbanded in July 1943 and its personnel absorbed into the ranks of the 21st Brigade.  These men were to become an integral part of the 21st Brigade's campaigns until the end of the war. and then in a peace keeping role in the Celebes for some months after.

Late in 1943, the 2/16th Battalion went back to New Guinea and took part in the Markham and Ramu Valley campaign where they fought valiantly again.  Shaggy Ridge is now a proud part of their long list of battle honours.  During 1944 and 1945 they trained on the Atherton Tablelands while waiting for General MacArthur to decide how Australian troops might be used in the offensive against the Japanese forces through the islands and into Japan.    Eventually the 2/16th was engaged in the successful landing and capture of Balikpapan in the eastern Borneo region in july 1945.  After peace was declared on 15 August 1945, many of the long term serving soldiers were sent home but the more recent battalion men, with a few seasoned veterans to guide them, such as the commanding officer Major John (Ben) Hearman  acted as a peace-keeping force in the Celebes until finally sent home in the early months of 1946.

Today, the 2/16th Battalion Association, the 16th Battalion, The Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia Association and the current 16th Battalion, Royal West Australian Regiment which centres its activities on Irwin Barracks, Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia, have joined together to preserve the traditions of these famous units.