I was born in November 1931 at Lady Bowen Hospital in Brisbane, the first of four children. My parents were living in Woolloongabba (Balaclava St) then, and they saw the ads for cheap land at Richlands Estate in the local Agent’s window. So, I was just twelve months old when we moved to our bush […]
Beryl Bull (nee Clark) – WWII stories from Richlands Read More »
My father was born in Italy in 1898. (We have a photo of him at the family house in his village. When it was demolished, it was found to be 300 years old). When Pilede turned seventeen, he was conscripted into the army. (In 1915, Italy joined the Allies in WWI). He fought for two
Carmen Formigoni (née Cantoni) – Italian migrants during WWII Read More »
The Camp Columbia Heritage Association has received the permission to reproduce the articles from the book: World War II Stories from Brisbane’s South West – written by Vicki Mynott. Foreword, Acknowledgements, Introduction, Timeline – World War II, Reading List RICHLANDS DARRA WACOL GOODNA OXLEY / CORINDA Other stories After the War Other information from the
World War II Stories from Brisbane’s South West Read More »
My parents were both immigrants. My mother was English, born in 1897 west of London; she arrived in Australia in 1915. My father was born in 1906 in Switzerland, and he came to Australia in 1929-1930. They met and married here and moved to Richlands in 1931. I was born in 1932, at Lady Bowen
Alex Borgeaud – WWII stories from Richlands Read More »
The WWII Rocklea Munition Factory played significant role during WWII. It was one of Queensland’s largest construction projects during World War II, serving as Australia’s most northerly ammunition manufacturing plant. Its importance increased once Gneral Douglas MacArthur established its headquarters in Brisbane and the Allied forces started to make progress. particularly after fighting reached New
Australian Rocklea Munitions Factories – critical for the war effort in the Pacific Read More »
Lloyd Gehrke, received these artefacts. His uncle Archie Mann and his wife Grace (the sister of Lloyd’s mother)had a horse-riding business in Kalinga, Brisbane. This city was, after General Douglas MacArthur established his WWII head office here in 1942, an important military centre. The horse riding business mentioned above attracted lots of Australian and Allied
Mark Gehrke’s WWII artefacts from Brisbane Read More »
In May 1942, amidst the backdrop of World War II, the Gailes Emergency Landing Ground (ELG) was constructed for the American military. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) subsequently assumed control of the site, categorizing it as a B-1 type airfield, characterised by a single runway exceeding 800 yards. Intended primarily as a crash strip,
Gailes Emergency Landing Ground – WWII Read More »
The Night of Disappearance On the evening of Friday, May 9, 1986, at around 8:00 PM, Sharron Phillips was reported missing to the Goodna police by her mother, Dawn Phillips. Sharron, a vibrant 20-year-old, had vanished without a trace. Earlier that day, her father and brother had discovered Sharron’s yellow Datsun Bluebird Sedan, registration 463-PKH,
The Mysterious Disappearance of Sharron Phillips near Camp Wacol (1986) Read More »
During World War II, the Central Bureau was established in 1942 to support General Douglas MacArthur’s South-West Pacific Area Command. This unit brought together intelligence personnel from various countries, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. Concurrently, the Fleet Radio Unit Melbourne (FRUMEL) was formed to assist the
Central Bureau-Ascot: WWII Codebreakers in the Pacific Read More »
The jungles and rugged mountains of New Guinea became a grueling battleground during World War II, witnessing some of the most arduous and harrowing combat faced by Allied forces. Far from the spotlight of Europe, the New Guinea Campaign was a protracted struggle against a tenacious Japanese enemy and the unforgiving tropical environment. At the
Brisbane: Strategic Heart of the Brutal New Guinea Campaign Read More »
It may be striking to contemplate Brisbane’s origins as a prison colony. The history we delve into pertains to Camp Columbia in Wacol, and there is a link back to the beginnings of the City. As its military facilities gradually disappeared, the vast terrain once utilised by Camp Columbia found new purposes. Presently, the area
From Camp Columbia HQ to Brisbane Correctional Centre Read More »
At Camp Columbia and the surrounding military facilities, two groups of women were employed. Firstly, there were the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), comprised initially of American women, later supplemented by Dutch recruits. The primary duties of the WACs encompassed a range of administrative, technical, and communication tasks, effectively freeing men for combat roles. Their responsibilities
The Women of Camp Columbia Read More »
Several of the details below are coming from the books World War II stories from Brisbane’s South West and 150 Years Richlands, Inala & Neigbouring Suburbs in Brisbane’s South West both by Vicki Mynott. Receptively in 2006 and 2009 she published stories from locals who provided some of the information in this chapter that I have –
WWII Military facilities in South West Brisbane Read More »
By 1946, most Dutch troops had left Camp Columbia. Ammunition and equipment were either dumped at sea or buried at some isolated spot. The quarry at Acacia Ridge was a convenient dump, and Willawong, also, received its share of disposals. Some army huts and buildings at Camp Columbia were left on site, and these were
From Camp Columbia to Wacol Army Camp later Sanananda Barracks Read More »
The Proposed Industrial Garden City in Darra, initially presented at the Second Australian Town Planning Conference in Brisbane in 1918 by Dr. Thomas Arthur Price, the Mayor of Toowoomba, showcased a visionary urban development plan. Inspired by the Garden City Movement and citing the First Industrial Garden City in Letchworth in England, the proposal aimed
Proposed Industrial Garden City in Darra – 1918 Read More »
At the outbreak of WWII the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was largely deployed in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Japanese Navy’s attacks on the Allies in December 1941, the RAN redeployed its larger ships to home waters to protect the Australian mainland from Japanese attack, while several smaller ships remained in the
Royal Australian Navy in the Southwest Pacific WWII Read More »
JIM GRINDLE’s home near Wacol Station was one. It became a Communications Centre for the United States Army, and the family moved in with the Grindles at Wolston House. WILLIAM DYNE purchased 100 acres on the southern side of Ipswich Road at Wacol and settled there with his wife and family in 1917. The property
Homes within the perimeter of Camp Columbia requisitioned by the Americans Read More »
Sultan Muhammad Jabir Syah (4 March 1902 – 4 July 1975) was the 47th ruler of Ternate from 1929 to 1975 and the last Ternatan Sultan with executive powers. In 1944, during World War II, the Western Allies began liberating parts of eastern Netherlands East indies. They contacted Sultan Jabir, who had moved to the
Sultan of the Spice Island of Ternate at Camp Columbia Read More »
Pauleen Lillian Badke was born at Booval in Ipswich in 1925. Her father’s name was ‘Wilhelm’ but he was known to everyone as ‘Bill’ – her mother’s name was Lillian. She had one brother, Keith. Bill was well known in Ipswich and surrounds as a building contractor, and for his love of harness racing –
During World War II, the Australian military commander in Brisbane was General Sir Thomas Albert Blamey. Blamey was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Military Forces in 1939 and held that position throughout the war. After leading the Australian Forces in Europe and the Middle East he came back to Australia in 1942. Here
Australia’s military commander Thomas Blainey moved his headquarters to Brisbane in 1942 Read More »
