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bombing of darwin
Most of the 280 or so people killed that day were victims of this first wave, mainly Allied service personnel, merchant seamen and wharf labourers in and around Darwin harbour. The last air raid on Australia was on 12 November 1943, when Darwin was attacked for the 64th and final time. -
bombing of broome
On 3 March 1942, without warning, Japanese fighters attacked. The attack lasted no more than 20 minutes, during which time 25 Allied aircraft were destroyed and dozens of people were killed or wounded. Many victims were Dutch women and children packed into flying boats on the harbour either waiting to be unloaded and ferried ashore or waiting to depart for the southern states. Another 30 crew and passengers, mostly military personnel, were lost when an American Liberator bomber was shot down sho -
sub attack on sydney harbour
The response to the attack was marred by confusion. Vision was limited and ferries continued to run as the midget submarines were hunted. At about 12.30 am there was an explosion on the naval depot ship HMAS Kuttabul, a converted harbour ferry, which was moored at Garden Island as an accommodation vessel. The crew of the midget submarine from I-24 had fired at the USS Chicago but missed, the torpedo striking the Kuttabul instead. Nineteen Australian and two British sailors on the Kuttabul died, -
newcastle shipyards attacked
Coinciding with the shelling of Sydney’s eastern suburbs on 8 June 1942 was a short bombardment off Newcastle, 160 kilometres north of Sydney. At approximately 2.00 am, the Japanese submarine I-21, commanded by Captain Kanji Matsumura, approached Newcastle. Matsumura's orders were to attack the Newcastle shipyards. From about 2.15 am, he fired 34 shells from a position about nine kilometres north-east of Fort Scratchley, at the mouth of the Hunter River. Most of the shells landed in the vicinity -
Cowra outbreak
From 1941, Cowra in western New South Wales was the site of a major POW camp. The camp housed various nationalities, including German, Italian and more than 1000 Japanese prisoners. The Japanese, unlike many of the others wouldn't except their fate, so they had planned to escape. on the 5th of august over 1000 japanese charged the camps defences. Over 100 japanese were wounded and 230 died. the allies suffered about 4 casualties 2 george cross awards were posthumously awarded for their actions.
