WW2 - THE BOMBING OF DARWIN
JAPANESE AIRMEN BURIED IN BERRIMAH
Berrimah - Darwin - Northern Territory
Before World War Two, in 1941 the Military authorities had decided on a number of locations in the north to identify strategic "camps" on ‘the road to the North’ - "Berrimah", "Noonamah" and "Larrimah". The Military Board chose some local Aboriginal names. During that time Berrimah became a military and industrial area.
Leading up to the bombing of Darwin and in late 1941, action was being taken to erect quickly the 119th Army General Hospital at the camp site to be known as "Berrimah", the Army quoting the origin of the Aboriginal word "to the south". The Hospital was erected on the present day Kormilda College site and was then called "Berrimah".
The original road reserve between Sections 41 and 42, Hundred of Bagot, became to be known as Berrimah Road and by September 1952, this name was officially gazetted as the access road south of the main Highway crossing to the Quarantine Station. The strafing of this Hospital by the Japanese in 1942 led to its eventual removal to Adelaide River.
Not far away on the eastern side of Berrimah Road, a small cemetery reserve marked the graves of Japanese airmen who ironically died in the earlier attempts to bomb Darwin into submission.
Before World War Two, in 1941 the Military authorities had decided on a number of locations in the north to identify strategic "camps" on ‘the road to the North’ - "Berrimah", "Noonamah" and "Larrimah". The Military Board chose some local Aboriginal names. During that time Berrimah became a military and industrial area.
Leading up to the bombing of Darwin and in late 1941, action was being taken to erect quickly the 119th Army General Hospital at the camp site to be known as "Berrimah", the Army quoting the origin of the Aboriginal word "to the south". The Hospital was erected on the present day Kormilda College site and was then called "Berrimah".
The original road reserve between Sections 41 and 42, Hundred of Bagot, became to be known as Berrimah Road and by September 1952, this name was officially gazetted as the access road south of the main Highway crossing to the Quarantine Station. The strafing of this Hospital by the Japanese in 1942 led to its eventual removal to Adelaide River.
Not far away on the eastern side of Berrimah Road, a small cemetery reserve marked the graves of Japanese airmen who ironically died in the earlier attempts to bomb Darwin into submission.
World War 2 Japanese Bombing Of Darwin. Melbourne Herald Headline 74 years ago today
Reporter NICK McCallum - Radio 3aw Melbourne and Television Channel Seven Melbourne
@DavidWDoughty Thanks David. The bombing of Darwin is a fascinating story that needs to reach as wide an audience as possible.
World War 2 Japanese Bombing Of Darwin. Melbourne Herald Headline 74 years ago today
DARWIN BOMBING OF APARTMENT HOUSE NEAR YMCA
AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS STAND AMONGST THE DAMAGE AFTER THE JAPANESE BOMBING OF DARWIN
Bombing of Darwin in World War 2. Damage to #Darwin’s water supply line after a Japanese Air Raid
DAMAGE TO A HOUSE NEAR THE HOSPITAL AFTER THE JAPANESE RAID OF DARWIN
THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE RADAR
AUSTRALIAN TROOP TRAIN STOPS BETWEEN ALICE SPRINGS FOR MEAL TIME - TEROWIE
AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS PARTY AT BERRY SPRINGS 1944
JAPANESE DEAD AT BERRIMAH CEMETERY - KILLED DURING RAIDS ON DARWIN
AMENITIES MESS - ALSO USED FOR BOXING BOUTS STAGED BY AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS
BERRIMAH CEMETERY - CIVILIANS KILLED DURING JAPANESE BOMBING OF DARWIN
THE AWFUL LOSS OF INNOCENT CIVILIAN LIVES
DAMAGED BEFORE LEAVING THE GROUND
AUSTRALIAN MACHINE GUNNERS FIRE AT JAPANESE PLANES IN DARWIN WW2
DARWIN, AUSTRALIA, WW2 - AUSTRALIAN ARTILERY FIRE AT JAPANESE PLANES
JAPANESE PLANES BOMB AND SHOOT AT DARWIN IN WW2
AUSTRALIAN ARTILERY AT DARWIN
DARWIN POST OFFICE IS BOMBED
JAPANESE BOMBERS ARE HEADING FOR DARWIN
AUSTRALIAN BRING DOWN A JAPANESE PLANE
DEVASTATION FROM JAPANESE BOMBS
DAMAGE FROM JAPANESE BOMBING OF DARWIN
AUSTRALIAN BOMB DESPOSAL EXPERTS DEFUSE AN UNEXPLODED SHELL
The bombing of Darwin – The Japanese air raids on Darwin and northern Australia, 1942–43. On the 19th February 1942 mainland Australia came under attack for the first time when Japanese forces mounted two air raids on Darwin. The two attacks, which were planned and led by the commander responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbour ten weeks earlier, involved 54 land-based bombers and approximately 188 attack aircraft which were launched from four Japanese aircraft-carriers in the Timor Sea. In the first attack, which began just before 10.00 am, heavy bombers pattern-bombed the harbour and town; dive bombers escorted by Zero fighters then attacked shipping in the harbour, the military and civil aerodromes, and the hospital at Berrimah. The attack ceased after about 40 minutes. The second attack, which began an hour later, involved high altitude bombing of the Royal Australian Air Force base at Parap which lasted for 20–25 minutes. The two raids killed at least 243 people and between 300 and 400 were wounded. Twenty military aircraft were destroyed, eight ships at anchor in the harbour were sunk, and most civil and military facilities in Darwin were destroyed. Contrary to widespread belief at the time, the attacks were not a precursor to an invasion. The Japanese were preparing to invade Timor, and anticipated that a disruptive air attack would hinder Darwin's potential as a base from which the Allies could launch a counter-offensive, and at the same time would damage Australian morale. With Singapore having fallen to the Japanese only days earlier, and concerned at the effect of the bombing on national morale, the government announced that only 17 people had been killed.
The air attacks on Darwin continued until November 1943, by which time the Japanese had bombed Darwin 64 times. During the war other towns in northern Australia were also the target of Japanese air attack, with bombs being dropped on Townsville, Katherine, Wyndham, Derby, Broome and Port Hedland. The response in the hours following the air raids on the 19th February, believing that an invasion was imminent, Darwin's population began to stream southwards, heading for Adelaide River and the train south. Approximately half Darwin's civilian population ultimately fled. The panic in the town was repeated at the RAAF base, where servicemen deserted their stations in great numbers. Three days after the attack 278 servicemen were still missing. The exodus south (which later became known as 'The Adelaide River stakes'), and the looting and disorder which subsequently occurred, led the government to hurriedly appoint a Commission of Inquiry led by Mr Justice Lowe which issued two reports, one on the 27th March and the other on the 9th of April 1942.
The air attacks on Darwin continued until November 1943, by which time the Japanese had bombed Darwin 64 times. During the war other towns in northern Australia were also the target of Japanese air attack, with bombs being dropped on Townsville, Katherine, Wyndham, Derby, Broome and Port Hedland. The response in the hours following the air raids on the 19th February, believing that an invasion was imminent, Darwin's population began to stream southwards, heading for Adelaide River and the train south. Approximately half Darwin's civilian population ultimately fled. The panic in the town was repeated at the RAAF base, where servicemen deserted their stations in great numbers. Three days after the attack 278 servicemen were still missing. The exodus south (which later became known as 'The Adelaide River stakes'), and the looting and disorder which subsequently occurred, led the government to hurriedly appoint a Commission of Inquiry led by Mr Justice Lowe which issued two reports, one on the 27th March and the other on the 9th of April 1942.
BOMBING OF DARWIN -World War 2 - 1942 _ 1943 Two
INFORMATION GATHERED BY AUSTRALIAN SOLDIER, WHO WOROTE THIS FOUR PAGE REPORT ON THE BOMBING OF DARWIN, GEORGE KING
REPORTING OFFICER - GEORGE KING
A ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel’ assists a wounded Australian soldier, Papua New Guinea, 1942
