Backyard Battlefields

An Australian plan was established in 1939 for the domestic production of armaments in the event war cut off the continent from the oceanic supply lines which sustained it. As a result a number of factories were built thoughout the country. One of these was established in Welshpool, Western Australia. Factory No. 6 as it was known produced one of the most import calibres of the war, the venerable .303, used by Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft, Vickers and Bren machine-guns and the iconic Lee Enfield Rifle.

Axford Park is a small reserve in the suburb of Mount Hawthorn, Western Australia. It is named for soldier and local resident, Thomas Leslie 'Jack' Axford, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions during the Battle of Hamel in 1918. This operation was directed by Australian General John Monash and was considered a 'text-book' victory which included the use of massed tanks, a technique pioneered at Hamel. The 'VC' is the highest award in the British honours system and is granted for extraordinary valour 'in the presence of the enemy'.

Nestled in the quiet suburb of Mount Lawley there is a Masonic Hall built in the 1928. It was designed by George Herbert Parry, a prolific Western Australian architect in an interwar 'Beaux Arts' style. During WW2 it found a new purpose, used by the Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF) as the 6th Fighter Sector Headquarters responsible for the air defence of Western Australia.

On the 3rd of March 1942, Japanese Zero fighters operating from Kopang, Indonesia attacked the Western Australian Pearling port of Broome. It was a target rich environment with the harbour packed with military and civilian aircraft filled with refugees from the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies. One of the victims was a Dutch Dakota carrying a fortune in diamonds bound for the Commonwealth Bank in Australia. Often described as 'Western Australia's Pearl Harbour' it was the most dramatic of several attacks on Broome during the dutation of the war.

The Brig 'Amity' was the ship which carried Major Edmund Lockyer and a contingent of troops to form the first European settlement in King George Sound, Western Australia. It was initally called 'Frederick Town' after Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (King George IIIs favourite son) and was later renamed 'Albany'. The local Menang people call it 'Kinjarling' said to mean 'Place of Rain'. Today there is a replica of 'Amity' which forms part of the Museum of the Great Southern.

Cape Naturaliste was named for a ship of the French Baudin Expedition of 1800. It's a prominent location, overlooking Geographe Bay on one side and the vastness of the Indian Ocean on the other. The high ground made it the perfect location for a lighthouse, guiding ships through the sometimes treacherous waters surrounding the Cape. During WW2 it was the operational position for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) 33rd Radar station, a link in the air defence chain protecting the South West Sector of Western Australia.

In March 1942 terrified refugees are fleeing the Dutch East Indies as Japanese forces march South. One of the last planes out, destined for Broome, Western Australia is a Dakota DC-3 piloted by Russian WW1 Ace Captain Ivan 'Turc' Smirnoff. Unbeknownst to those on board it's carrying a mysterious package filled with a fortune in Diamonds. Attacked by Japanese aircraft, the Dakota crashes on a remote beach and the diamonds disappear. This episode is an interview with Juliet Wills, author of 'The Diamond Dakota Mystery' an incredible tale of the 1942 Broome attack and the missing Dutch diamonds.

In 1941 sailors from a German merchant raider HSK Kormoran came ashore at Red Bluff, Western Australia following a battle with the Australian Cruiser HMAS Sydney. Before they reached the beach they disposed of any items which could complicate their capture. This episode recounts a unique 2007 discovery at Red Bluff and the key events of the engagement between Sydney and Kormoran.

Garden Island is a thin limestone sliver, 5km off the coast of Western Australia. It was an idyllic holiday destination until it became an important part of the defence of Fremantle during World War 2, protecting the Cockburn Sound and Southern approaches to the port. It was also the training ground of the famous 'Z' Special Unit, who paddled their kayaks into Singapore harbour to attack Japanese shipping. Today it is home to HMAS Stirling and the Royal Australian Navy's Fleet Base West.

William Dampier was a Pirate, Author and Explorer. He published numerous books including 'A New Voyage Around the World (1697) which was a unique blend of adventure and natural history which made him a popular sensation. He was the first English person to explore the coast of Western Australia in the ship HMS Roebuck which was the first Royal Navy expedition solely dedicated to science and exploration.