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Brisbane Timeline to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in the Pacific

Brisbane in World War Twoby Dr Jonathan (Jack) Ford Introduction2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, both in Europe and the Far East. From July 1942 to May 1944, Brisbane was the most important city in Australia during the war. It served as the headquarters for US General Douglas MacArthur’s […]

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Nederlands Military Air Transport Services at Archerfield – WWII

Military Air Transport in Australia started soon before the fall of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). In the few months before this happened evacuations started to happen, mainly of Dutch civilian personnel including families of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Airline (KNILM). These civil aircrafts became the earliest core of military air transport in Australia.

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US Army Morning Reports Camp Columbia

Morning Reports in the U.S. Army were daily administrative documents used to track and report personnel and unit activities. These reports, maintained operational planning, and record-keeping. They are now considered valuable historical resources for research, including genealogy and military history. Key Features of Morning Reports: Accessing Historical Morning Reports Morning reports from the U.S. Army

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War Brides

An estimated 300 US soldiers returned to their sweethearts in Australia. 10-12,000 Australian girls married Americans and emigrated to the US – 7000 of them from Queensland. In the USA, the number of war brides was enormous: “During World War II, an estimated one million American soldiers married women from over fifty different countries. In

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Allied Translator and Interpreter Section at Indooroopilly

ATIS was an integrated unit composed of Australian and American intelligence personnel and staff from the other Allied Forces (the Netherlands and China) Their primary responsibilities were the interrogation of Japanese POWs from Gaythorne POW Camp and the interpretation of captured Japanese documents. Given the low surrender rate of Japanese soldiers, ATIS placed greater emphasis

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Norm Bremner’s war memories

My mother’s parents were born in Australia, of Irish stock, and my father’s parents were English. My parents were married in Paddington in about 1925. I was born in Paddington in 1927, the eldest of five children. My father had a milk and ice run in Paddington and Toowong, but when the Depression came, custom

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Unique set of pictures of the hospital ship Maetsuyker after its handover from the Dutch to the Americans in Brisbane February 1944

The following is a set of unique pictures received from Peter Dunn, who took the photographs from the exhibits at NARA’s College Park library near Washington DC. They were taken in Brisbane after the US Army had taken over the hospital ship from the Dutch. The original text is published below the pictures. For more

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Australian Rocklea Munitions Factories – critical for the war effort in the Pacific

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

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