Backyard Battlefields

In 1942 a Japanese submarine I-21, operating off the East coast of Australia shelled the port of Newcastle in New South Wales. This attack was in the context of the bombardment of Sydney's Eastern suburbs and the audacious midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour.

The Chinook (or 'Chook') is a twin-rotor heavy lift helicopter manufactured by Boeing and used by the Australian Army. A detatchment was deployed to Afghanistan in support of the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG)

In September 1943, Japanese Navy Kawanashi 'Emily' Flying Boats operating out of Surabaya, Indonesia bombed the Western Australian town of Onslow, Western Australia.

The Pinjarra Mounted Volunteers were raised in 1862 by prominent citizen Captain Theodore Fawcett, formerly of the British 6th Dragoon Guards. It was the first mounted unit raised for policing and defence in the Western Australian Perth (Boorloo) area, known then as The Swan River Colony.

Born in the town of Northam, Western Australia, Hugo Throssell won the Victoria Cross (VC) at Gallipoli in 1915 and later became a Socialist and outspoken advocate on the futility of war.

The Monte Bello Islands have a unique place in Western Australian history. They form an archipelago lying approximately 130KM off the Pilbara coast and in the 1950s they were the site of 3 British nuclear weapons tests called 'Operation Hurricane' and 'Mosaic.'

Kojanup Barracks is an important piece of Western Australian history. Built by British Redcoats of the 51st Regiment it was a staging post on the road to the strategically important town of Albany. Kojanup is located 256km South East of Perth, Western Australia.

The Fremantle Artillery Barracks was built to service the forts defending the Western Australian port of Fremantle. Sitting atop Cantonment Hill on the corner of Burt and Tuckfield Streets, it is now home to the Army Museum of Western Australia.

The IJN Ibuki was a Japanese battlecruiser which in 1914 escorted the Gallipoli bound Australian and New Zealand troops from Albany at the Southern tip of Western Australia to the Middle East.

Now a backpackers hostel, the Old Swan Barracks on Francis Street in Northbridge, former headquarters and home to Perths Central Drill Hall, was an important feature of the pre-Federation military forces in Western Australia.