Military History in Darwin

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Darwin
Arriving in Darwin a little later than planned, due to the delay in departing Thursday Island, we enter Darwin Harbor and dock about 1000. Warm rain welcomes us as we board the tour buses for our tour of the “top end” of Australia. We’ve chosen “Military Highlights” since this city was the only one bombed by the Japanese in WWII and became a pivotal base of operations for the US build up and strikes against the Japanese Empire. We see why the Aussies feared a Japanese invasion after the surprise bombing on19 February 1942 which killed 241 people, including 89 Americans on the USS Peary. Ten American Spitfires were the only defense, other than antiaircraft guns as they turned back from their transit of the area during a training flight to attack the Japanese. All but one lost their lives as a result. This began a series of raids on Darwin over the months as Aussies built up troop bases and airfields. We know now that the Japanese only wanted to ensure no military buildup would hinder their conquering of New Guinea and associated islands with their rubber and associated raw materials. Ultimately Gen McArthur did what the Japanese were afraid of, a military force using Australia as a spring board (land based aircraft carrier) to attack the home islands. The American defense of Australia led to a warm partnership between the two countries with B-52 bombers later relying on Darwin as an overnight stopping place in the Cold War and our donating a B-52 to Darwin for display on the closing of USAF overseas bases. Our visit to the Darwin Military Museum in East Point Park, a WWII site of defense gun emplacements, and the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre (with the B-52 among other historic aircraft) were poignant reminders of the past and our need to learn from it. Our hot and muggy visit to the Northern Territories was highlighted by a tour guide and bus driver with wonderful senses of humor (the official description of the new convention center is of a pearl shell but the driver noted it looks more like a cockroach -which it does). They also shared their opinion of being “only” a territory where their laws are “supervised “by the national parliament, unlike the other Aussie areas which are “states”. Their straightforward approach to explanations was a trait we’ve come to appreciate from these countrymen and another reason it’s tough to leave. It’s one of those places you want to return to often and see more of such a gigantic and varied land. But our ship calls and, after a couple of days at sea, we visit the storied land of Bali.

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