BATTLE FOR AUSTRALIA Civilians to rescue in dark days
MUCH is made of the important role Australian troops played in World War II but few know the story of thousands of Queenslanders who faced the threat of invasion every day from home.
Today marks Battle for Australia Day and is a chance to remember Queensland’s civilian army who were trained to provide defence against Japanese submarines off the coast.
When intelligence revealed the enemy was waiting offshore, the call went out asking Queenslanders of all ages and walks of life to join the state’s Volunteer Defence Corp.
In a move that shocked authorities, more than 17,500 Queensland teachers, librarians, harbour masters, teenagers, posties, farmers and everyday men and women signed up.
They studied guerilla warfare and morse code, risked crocodile attacks during night beach patrols and learned how to make and detonate explosives.
Women formed ambulance crews and studied to become field medics. Others scanned the coastline and used pedalpowered radios to report suspicious activity.
This week marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle for Australia.
Queensland’s Battle for Australia Commemoration Committee president Major (Rtd) Patrick John O’Keeffe said the mobilisation of such a force was “very significant” for a place with such a small population like Cairns.
“If you ask any of the ex-servicemen in Brisbane, they’ll tell you about the people in the North who helped them in many locations and in many ways. Most of them were stationed in Cairns and the Tablelands,” he said.
“I estimate we will never know the value of people feeding troops on trains, how would they have gone if they’d got to the North without a feed?
“It is just one little example and there are thousands of them.”
Cairns RSL Kokoda Hall Museum deputy curator Bill Maconachie said while many residents were evacuated from the Far North, those who stayed were eager to help out.
“I think everyone just did the best they could,” he said.
“I know of families who made identification tags for their kids in case they got lost in an evacuation.”
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Dan Tehan said more than 500,000 Australian service personnel and civilians helped defend the home front in 1942 and 1943.
“On the first Wednesday of September we reflect on a time in our history when war was at our doorstep, and we pay our respects to the men and women who stood tall in our defence,” he said.
“This year we acknowledged the 75th anniversaries of a number of significant events from the Second World War, including the Fall of Singapore, the bombing of Darwin, and the Battles of the Coral Sea and Milne Bay; and in November we will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Kokoda Campaign.
“We should never forget that these critical moments in our history were also the lived experience of our fellow countrymen and women and today we honour all those who served and gave their lives in the Battle for Australia.”