63 years ago...
On Thursday 19 February 1942, Australia was for the first time attacked
by a foreign nation.
The Japanese air raids on Darwin happened four days after the fall of
Singapore and only 10 weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbour.
The Australian and American armed forces in the Northern Territory were
hopelessly under-resourced.
They had no fighter aircraft.
The infantry had only five rounds of ammunition each, and the ack-ack
were told to use the World War I (1916) ammunition before starting on
the newer supplies.
One unit had 80 rifles between 700 soldiers.
On 19 February 1942 eight ships were sunk in Darwin Harbour, with few
survivors. Thirty-four aircraft were destroyed, the post office demolished
and several hundred people killed and injured, civilians and armed services
alike.
The initial raids were followed by 21 months of air assaults on the Top
End: Darwin, Adelaide River, Katherine and Milingimbi in Arnhem Land were
bombed 64 times.
Despite a Royal Commission into the attacks, for years the Australian
government suppressed the truth about casualties and damage.
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