The Loff FamilyMy mother Tilly was born in Darra on 4 November 1905. The youngest of six children, she was born at home, in a railway house. Darra was little more than a fettler’s camp then—though Brittain’s Brickworks had been going since 1899. The fettler’s houses were beyond the brickworks, near the “Nine-foot bridge”—which was […]
Desley Lansbury (nee Scott) – WWII stories from Darra Read More »
My father, Bill Eason, was born in Highgate Hill in 1886. Mother was born in England in 1890 and came out in 1909. They met and married in 1911. My father and his brother Len took the train from Indooroopilly to look at land in Darra in 1914, when the first advertisements for town blocks
Bob Eason – a teenager during WWII Read More »
Pino in 1939 I was fourteen when war was declared. I was attending Central Tech three days a week, studying architecture. I would ride my bike the three miles (5 km) from Richlands to Darra, put it under the Station Master’s house, take the train to Brisbane, then walk to the Tech (now QUT). Even
Pino Zerlotti farm boy – exempt from military services Read More »
ParadeMy grandfather Robert Burke Sparrow was from Sandgate. He worked at the Ipswich Railway Workshops, and he bought land for a “hobby farm” in Richlands from the Dynes about 1910. He retired there to his poultry farm on Archerfield Road. Dad (Howard Sparrow) was born in 1904, and he worked with my grandfather on the
Noel Sparrow – remembering US soldiers Read More »
Memories From The War Years The Reed family arrived from England in 1928 and settled in Richlands in 1931. Milly, the elder daughter, provided these anecdotes for the book Richlands State School – 60th Anniversary 1934-1994, which was written and produced by Ric Formigoni, a teacher and former pupil at the school. Service Industries (P63
Milly Yarnold (nee Reed) – Memories From The War Years Read More »
It was the early part of 1942, and I was seventeen, when the Americans came. One morning I was standing in Archerfield Road, talking to a friend, when four or five trucks came up the road and pulled up right in front of us. Dozens of soldiers got out and set to making a clearing
Alido Vincenzi – delivered ice to Camp Columbia Read More »
Early DaysMy family, parents, and two brothers arrived from England in about 1926; my mother had two sisters here already. I was born in Beaudesert on 27 February 1927, and my sister was born two years later. Dad couldn’t get work as a jeweller here, so he bought a truck; he had been in transport
Keith Brough – war recollections from around Archerfield Read More »
Richlands, at the time of the arrival of the Americans, was a small ‘pocket of farms to the south of Darra, with about seventy-five homes and farms, many empty blocks, and only one access road—Archerfield Road to Darra. I was one of the first babies born in Richlands Estate, and I was five when war
Fred Clark – memories of WWII in Richlands Read More »
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 following article was written by Douglas Hurst and includes the information he received from Joan van-Embden-Butler (nee Butler) one of the Women Army Corps (WAC) who also stayed at Camp Columbia in Brisbane. The Women Corps Our lives are often shaped by events beyond our control, and so it was for Ineke Thysse during
Personal stories from the Women Army Corps – trained at Camp Columbia 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 »
Christiaan Vincent Gradwell (Chris) van Oosterzee, born on March 20, 1922, in Weltevreden (Batavia), and died on April 18, 1989, in Amsterdam, was a significant figure during and after World War II. His life included notable interactions with Australia during his military service. Early Life and Military Involvement Chris van Oosterzee was a member of
Engelandvaarder Chris van Oosterzee – trained at Camp Columbia 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 »
This story is written by Maria Douwes and published in her book: Back to Australia The Douwes family was one of the last families to move from Amsterdam to Australia for a hundred guilders. Both the Australian and Dutch governments sponsored this trip. On December 9, 1960, Maria Douwes emigrated to Australia with her parents, five brothers and
Dutch migrant family Douwes settles from Wacol in Inala, Brisbane – 1961 Read More »
General Douglas MacArthur stands among the most prominent and controversial military figures in American history. His career, spanning both World Wars and the Korean War, was marked by extraordinary tactical genius, political theatre, and a polarising personality that drew both admiration and disdain. Early brilliance and World War I heroism Born in 1880 to a
General Douglas MacArthur – General SWAPA commander in Brisbane 1942-1944 Read More »
Gunther Bonnin form Oregon in the USA was stationed as an intelligent officer in Brisbane during WWII. In this capacity he was commissioned to the Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS). He apparently wrote a paper on Sukarno as part of his intelligence work. He was probably also a translator. After the war Gunther married in
Lieutenant General Simon Hendrik Spoor was born on December 12, 1902, in the Netherlands, Spoor’s military career spanned several critical periods, from the war in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) to his contributions during World War II in Australia and his involvement with the Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS). Spoor’s military journey began in the
