On 19 February 1942, a
military force attacked mainland Australia for the first time when
Darwin was the target of two devastating air raids.
Shortly before 9.00 am that day, a strike force of 188 Japanese
aircraft was launched from four aircraft carriers located mid way
between Timor and Darwin. The same force had attacked Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, ten weeks
before – but it would drop more than twice as many bombs on Darwin.
Darwin was caught unprepared,
when the first bombs fell at 9.57 am destroying a section of the main
wharf at Stokes Hill and killing 21 waterside workers.
In the next twenty minutes, the attackers sank or disabled 21
ships, destroyed most of the waterfront facilities, and wrecked much of
the town area. Two hours
later, a second force of 54 bombers attacked and severely damaged the
Darwin RAAF Base.
At least 292 people were
killed, and hundreds more were wounded during the two raids. Military
and civilian administration was badly disrupted by the action. Fearing
possible invasion some people left Darwin.
The Darwin region sustained
at least 62 more air raids, up until 12 November 1943, but none were as
destructive as the first two.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE WORDING
Government House was bombed
and repeatedly strafed during the first air raid.
The Administrator’s Office which was located in front of the
House, was destroyed, and Daisy Martin an aboriginal staff member
was killed. The Australian flag flying in front of Government House was
damaged by aircraft machine-gun fire, it is now displayed in the
Australian War Memorial.
Nearby, where Parliament
House stands today, nine people were killed and another was mortally
wounded when a 450-kilogram bomb fell directly into a trench in which
Post Office staff were sheltering.
In this first raid the
Japanese were largely unopposed. The widely dispersed anti-aircraft
batteries provided limited deterrence and the 36 Japanese Zero fighters
were challenged by only five, American-piloted Kittyhawks.
Losses were heaviest on and
near the shipping in the harbour, where more than 200 people died. The
ammunition ship Neptuna disintegrated
and 36 men were killed when it's cargo exploded. The destroyer USS Peary was trapped in the harbour and sank, guns still firing,
with the loss of 91 men. Despite heroic rescue attempts many men died in
the water, some drowned, some perished in the burning oil.
CONSEQUENCES OF THE RAID
The first raids on Darwin
shocked Australia, however, the true magnitude of the destruction was
censored. In the
immediate aftermath, military headquarters moved to Adelaide River and
the civilian administration was withdrawn to Alice Springs.
For the next few months,
north Australian skies were defended by a small group of Americans
flying Kittyhawk fighters. Gradually,
they reduced the Japanese aerial attacks. A dramatic build-up of defence
personnel saw more than 60,000 based in the Territory by late 1942.
Major infrastructure development accompanied this influx and some can
still be seen today in the Barkly and Stuart Highways.
The threat of invasion
receded and the Allies progressively launched offensive air attacks from
Top End bases, taking the war back to the Japanese held areas in the
islands to the north.
Darwin, on February 19th each year, a ceremony is held in
commemoration of the sacrifices of those men and women who came here to
defend Australia in its darkest hour.