Cairns during World War II - stories and photos
Let’s look back and see how Cairns and the Far North region was involved in World War II. It was a time of ration cards, restricted areas, censorship and backyard bomb shelters as the city was at the forefront of the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942 and the general Pacific offensive during 1943.
When the Japanese started to make their way down the Malay Peninsula, the Commonwealth Government called for voluntary evacuation of the population.
About half of Cairns’s 15,000 population dropped everything and headed inland or to the south, some selling everything they had for a pittance.
Schools closed and authorities, including both Cairns and Mulgrave Councils and the Cairns Harbour Board, busied themselves devising a secret plan to demolish key sites like the wharves, oil tanks and reservoir if the enemy made it to Cairns.
Anti-aircraft gun emplacements were established along the Cairns foreshore and at False Cape, and every Sunday night, police would sound the siren so residents would practice air raid procedures including wearing gas masks.
Bombs were dropped at Mossman and a Japanese submarine was reported off the coast near Yarrabah.
Trinity Beach was used as a major training ground for defence forces for amphibious landings.
The Americans opened their own Post Office in Abbott Street and thousands of soldiers were housed in a massive transit centre built in Sheridan Street before being transported to New Guinea.
Beaches
Trinity Beach in Cairns was the location for intense training for thousands of soldiers in World War II.
Bombings
On 31 July 1942, eight bombs were dropped from a Japanese long-range flying boat around 13km north Mossman.
Catalinas
Squadrons (No 20 and No 11) supporting around 30 “flying boats” called Catalinas and Martin Mariner aircraft were based in Cairns during World War II.
The Krait and Z Force
The brave men of the famous “Z Force” trained in Cairns and used the Krait (a small fishing vessel) for a covert mission in Singapore Harbour in September 1943.
VIPs
World War II during a time when the city was the base for thousands of Australian and American soldiers involved in the Pacific operations.
Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day
Cairns residents enjoyed celebrations for VP Day (Victory in the Pacific) on 15 August 1945.
Last Updated: 5 October 2021
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