Darwin

Following a low level hot bumpy flight the Bazflyers landed at Darwin International Airport, the most northerly point we will visit on our present flying safari; some 9,000 kms and 32 flying hours from the Baz Base at Lake Taupo, New Zealand.

Looking out towards the harbour from the upper floor of a rented apartment shared with accompanying Comanche flyers, it is possible to spot a weathered concrete remnant on a small hill. Like an old soldier long relieved of duty, the round pillbox structure remains as a reminder of the pummelling that befell Darwin during the Second World War. 

I always knew Darwin was attacked by the Japanese during World War II but somehow the scale and devastation of multiple attacks had fully escaped me until now. The Japanese flew 64 raids on Darwin. The initial attack against occurred on 19 February 1942. It involved 188 Japanese planes and was the largest Japanese attack since Pearl Harbour. 

With much of the town destroyed and hundreds of people killed and wounded, Darwin's remaining population feared that the Japanese were about to invade. There was widespread panic and about half of Darwin's civilian population fled. Hundreds of woman and children were forcibly evacuated.

It is estimated that between 900 and 1100 people were killed. It would be difficult to achieve these days, but for many years government censorship limited coverage of the event to protect public morale in the southern states of Australia. Perhaps this helps explain how the full story of the bombing of Darwin has for so long escaped my normally inquisitive radar.

While it is commonly believed the Japanese were hoping to invade Australia, experts have since claimed this is all wrong. It wasn't Australia the Japanese wanted to invade - it was Timor. However, they reasoned that Darwin would send aid to Timor when such an event took place, so the Japanese decided it was best to take the Northern Territory's capital out of the equation. Perhaps the true story still remains censored....

Almost thirty years after the war ended Darwin was again hit with a tragic event that levelled the town and resulted in a mass evacuation of the population. Hurricane 'Tracy' hit in the early hours of Christmas Day 1974. By the time it was dawn Darwin had been virtually destroyed, and most of the population of 48,000 were homeless.