Backyard Battlefields

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. 

Dilhorn is a Federation Queen Anne style house located in the Perth suburb of Highgate. It was designed by Soldier Architect Joseph John Talbot Hobbs in 1897.

Following the audacious Japanese midget submarine raid on Sydney Harbour in 1942 the remains of 4 Japanese submariners were recovered. The officer commanding Sydney Harbour Rear Admiral Muirhead-Gould ordered that the men be cremated with full military honours. This was done both out of respect for their bravery and in the hope that the conditions of the many Australians held in Japanese Prisoner of War camps might be improved. Nevertheless it was an extraordinary gesture at a time of heightened fear and anger and his decision was criticised in many quarters. This is episode is an audio recording of the funeral most likely recorded by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In March 1944 a powerful Imperial Japanese Navy flotilla entered the Indian Ocean with the purpose (it is believed) of attacking the Western Australian port of Fremantle, then the largest submarine base in the Southern hemisphere. Artillery expert Phil Rowson gives a brief account of the details of the incursion.

This episode is an interview with Peter Grose, author of 'A Very Rude Awakening' an excellent account of the May 1942 Japanese raid on Sydney Harbour.

On the 19th of February 1942 Japanese carrier and land based aircraft attacked the Australian port of Darwin. The 1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy was fresh from it's attack on the US Naval base at Pearl Harbour just 10 weeks prior and focused its attention on Darwin to prevent the allies using it as a base to interfere with the Japanese conquest of Timor and Java. This is an interview with Peter Grose, author of 'An Awkward Truth' an excellent account of the Darwin raid.

Melon Hill is located at Allen Park in a beach side suburb of Western Australia. It was the site of an observation post which would have acted in support of nearby coastal defence batteries during the Second World War.

K-Heavy Battery was a 155mm gun position located at Point Peron, Western Australia. During WW2 it protected the Southern approach to the strategically important port of Fremantle during WW2. Featured is part of an interview with artillery expert Phil Rowson on the history of K-Battery.

A long way from the deadly battles of the North Atlantic, the German Kriegsmarine sent a number of U-Boats to operate out of Japanese bases in British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. Their role was stalk the strategic shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean and disrupt commerce in the coastal waters off Australia.

Melbourne's Victoria Barracks was named after Queen Victoria and was built between 1856 and 1872. It was once the home of British redcoats before becoming the headquarters for Victorian and then Australian military forces. It is a beautiful building, which is framed by 4 guns captured during conflicts with the Britain's various enemies over the past 150 years. Located on St Kilda Road, it is has great historical and architectural significance and is one of the most striking 19th century government buildings in Victoria, Australia.    

Anzac Cottage is a house on Kalgoolie Street in the Perth suburb of Mount Hawthorn. It was built in 1916, in a single day by local and enthusiastic volunteers and given as a gift to a wounded veteran of Gallipoli. It was intended to be a 'practical' war memorial and a tribute to all those that served in the first world war. It is a wonderful and unique contribution to the story of ANZAC and is an important part of Australia's military history.    

During WW2 the Western Australian island of Rottnest hosted a key link in the Fremantle Coastal Defence Fortress. It was there to protect Fremantle, a strategic port and submarine base from enemy attack.

How many thousands of people have walked past a lonely ships cannon in Macquarie Place and not known that it belonged to the flagship of the First Fleet? This podcast tells the story of HMS Sirius, it's connection to Australia's military history and how a Royal Navy cannon came to be sitting amongst the bars and cafes of Macquarie Place.

On the 8th of June 1942 a Japanese submarine I-24 bombarded Sydney's eastern suburbs. It was a postscript to a profound event in Australia's military history, the daring midget submarine attack on Sydney harbour.

During WW2, the US Navy's Patrol Wing Number 10 operated PBY Catalina Flying Boats from Matilda Bay in Perth.

The Leighton Battery in Mosman Park WA was part of the defences protecting the port of Fremantle during the second world war.

A brief history of the Boer War Memorial and captured Krupp Boer cannon located at Kings Park in Perth. The memorial was established to honour the men of the Western Australian Mounted Infantry who served in South Africa.