Saturday 18 February 2012

Commemorating the attack on Darwin

February 19th marks 70 years since the first attack on Australian soil in 1942. It took place in Darwin and was the beginning of a 21-month raid on Australia's north. It is a day to commemorate, not to celebrate.

The official government death toll was more than 240 with hundreds more casualties. Many others died and were injured in subsequent attacks on Northern Australia over those following 21 months. It was a defining moment in Australia’s history: it highlighted the fortitude of those living in Darwin and the Australian spirit.

The events of 19 February 1942 were calculated  by the enemy, and was as shocking as the attack on Pearl Harbour just weeks before. It brought the war home to a country previously untouched by foreign conflict.

A new World War Two Heritage Park, thirty kilometre south of Darwin will help us remember that dark period of Darwin’s history It is located on land where the US Army 147th Artillery established a base at that time and includes an educational facility.

The Defence of Darwin Experience is an audio visual installation that introduces the war in the north and attack on Darwin. It will become the new entry point to the Military Museum. Let us hope that it helps future generations to understand the horrors and  the futility of war.

This year will be one of the last opportunities to hear first-hand accounts from surviving veterans and civilians who fought for the defence of our country.

To all our friends, family and colleagues who lost loved ones in that terrible period, we send our sincerest and fondest best wishes. Let it never happen again.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.
http://www.woodwards.co/

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