Year 9 NSW » History » Australia and World War II » The Australian home front

Topic : The Australian home front

In this topic you will learn...

Chapter 1 : The bombing of Darwin

When Japan occupied the Malayan Peninsula and the island of Singapore, Australian fears of an invasion of the mainland became very real
Japanese incursions in the north of Australia were not unknown. Japanese submarines and planes had been detected on several occasions in January 1942
In reality, Japan had no intention of invading Australia but had concerns about her use as a base for American military forces
At 9.58 am on 19 February 1942, Darwin was bombed by a squadron of Japanese planes
The damage to the port was significant, sinking an American destroyer, five civilian ships, an oil tanker, and munitions vessel
The airstrip was destroyed and four American Kittyhawks coming in to land were shot down
A second attack occurred around noon, damaging the city centre
The civilian and military inhabitants of Darwin were caught by surprise and terrified. Chaos ensued as military personnel fled and civilians hid, fearing further attacks
The attacks cost 243 lives, and 300-500 casualties
The Australian government exercised its powers of censorship to record only 15-17 deaths. During the War, the Australian public learned little of the fear that gripped the people of Darwin

Chapter 2 : Submarines in Sydney

Chapter 3 : Enemy aliens: Policy of internment

Chapter 4 : Enemy aliens: Internment

Topic Summary

Audio Summary

Play | Download

Text Summary

This topic includes

ToolBox