Episodios

  • Rule .303: The Welshpool Small Arms Factory, 1942
    Jul 18 2024

    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.

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    8 m
  • An Army Reserve: Axford Park, Mount Hawthorn
    Jul 11 2024

    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'.

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    9 m
  • Freemasons & Fighter Command: Mount Lawley, Western Australia
    Jun 27 2024

    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.

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    12 m
  • The Empire Strikes Broome: 3rd March 1942
    Jun 18 2024

    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.

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    12 m
  • Amity and Albany: Western Australia
    Apr 22 2024

    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.

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    8 m
  • South West Sentinels: Cape Naturaliste Radar Station and Lighthouse
    Mar 28 2024

    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.

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    14 m
  • The 'Diamond Dakota Mystery' and the Bombing of Broome
    Mar 21 2024

    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.

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    41 m
  • Coral Coast and Kormoran: Red Bluff, Western Australia
    Mar 14 2024

    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.

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    12 m