Sunday History Photo / NT

G'day Ron,
Your reply is a ripper mate, most interesting and goes beyond just a thanks button click, this is why I do text for you to say Thanks.

The NSW Main Roads was called in to do sections of the Stuart Hwy too.

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Doug - Re the NSWMR - Yes, that's correct, the Wartime Govt called on anyone who was left behind, to do the huge task of construction jobs required for the military.

The Allied Works Council was by far the biggest source of labour and equipment for these road-building, airfield building, and general construction jobs, because there just wasn't enough Australian military engineering and construction squadrons to do the amount of tasks required, particularly in the early 1940-late 1942 period.

The Americans woke up quickly right after Pearl Harbor and formed their "SeaBee" (CB) Construction Battalions.
These blokes were qualified civilian builders, engineers and road and airfield construction experts, who were drafted directly into the military Construction Battalions, with only minimal basic infantry instruction.

Many of these highly qualified civilians were given commissions immediately, so they could supervise the big military projects.
It was just like peacetime, only everyone wore green, and the jobs were huge, and the timetables impossible!

The RAAF Airfield Construction Squadrons blokes are/were a tight group, still holding together an association. They are now a branch of the RAAF Association. They still hold meetings, but nearly all the WW2 ACS blokes are gone.

Here's a good read, it's the history of the RAAF ACS's in a PDF file.
It's called "Always First - the The RAAF Airfield Construction Squadrons 1942-1974" by David Wilson.
You may be able to still buy the book from some used bookseller, but the print version is no longer produced.

The RAAF ACS history

Cheers, Ron.

(ex RAE, 17 Construction Sqdn, Vietnam)

Yes it was the SeaBees that did the work for the FRU at Mt Bundy.

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I have a link for you but your not a member so I can not Pm you so here is the linkUS Navy FRU

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Thanks for the link, Doug, that site makes for interesting reading.
I reckon the Mt Bundy station owners were pretty generous in making the area for the communications station available for the duration of the War, for 10 quid!

I guess just having the Yanks there and getting some spin-offs from whatever they discarded or couldn't use - and perhaps even making use of some of their facilities, was worth the low rent!

I used to have an old farmer client, Ralph Childe, who was an RAAF corporal and AA gunner in Darwin during WW2.
He's long dead, but he told us some interesting snippets during the late 1960's, about the bad days of trying to defend Darwin in early 1942.
One of the things he mentioned was that during the early raids, his AA gunner group, stationed around town and the airfield, and only equipped with Lewis guns (.303 calibre) - were strictly forbidden to fire on any attacking Jap planes!

This seemed strange to me, but apparently it was a self-preservation move, as the Japs were utterly potent, and ruled the Darwin skies with audacity during that period.

Ralph told me how he held his AA fire during one raid, as instructed - but one of his RAAF mates couldn't resist letting loose at a passing Jap plane. Ralph said the effect was like you'd stomped on a bullants nest.

After the unauthorised AA fire by the Aussie, the Jap planes came back in force immediately, and accurately targeted his mate who had fired - with deadly accuracy - and totally obliterated him and his Lewis gun, in his trench, in seconds, with serious amounts of 20mm cannon fire!!

At that point, Ralph said he understood why caution was the favoured part of valour - as in the orders - as at that stage they could not afford to lose any weapons, ammunition was desperately short, and the battle outcome was always going to be the same one-sided result!
Ralph intimated it was like trying to kill an eagle that was attacking you, with a blunt 2" pocket knife!

Shortly after, when more Allied aircraft arrived in Darwin, the AA gunners became better armed, and were then also provided with adequate ammunition, and assumed a more aggressive role.

I guess the belief amongst the military leadership in Darwin during the dark days of February and March 1942, was that there was little left to protect in Darwin, anyway!

It was merely hunker down in the trenches and let the Japs pound what little they could, and then let them fly away! There was no ability to retreat, there was nowhere they could go for reinforcement!

It must have been a particularly dispiriting period - and the stories about the people who fled Darwin due to Jap air raids, make one realise just how much fear the ruthless and seemingly unstoppable Japs appeared to Aussies during early 1942.

Cheers, Ron.

Sorry, can't edit here - but the last line above should have read, "just how much fear the ruthless and seemingly unstoppable Japs, instilled into the Aussies there, during early 1942."