Marlin Coast War Memorial
Vasey Esplanade ... Trinity Beach
Explanatory Notes
Written by Gordon McKauge ... Trinity Beach
Monday 25th April 2005
Marlin Coast War Memorial
Vasey Esplanade ... Trinity Beach
Explanatory Notes
Written by Gordon McKauge ... Trinity Beach
Monday 25th April 2005
NORTH to EAST
CHINAMAN'S BAY TAYLOR POINT LANDING CRAFT WORKSHOPS 1.1KM
Less than one kilometre from here, this was the home of the Army Water
Transport
you can still sit on the remains of the foundations of their huts, some of
which were built out over the water ... one mess hut, located further back
from the beach, was used right up to the 1990's as a Girl Guide camp until
the church, to whom it was bequeathed, sold the property, and the building
was torn down ... great shame ... the barges were crewed by tank
crews who became redundant when it was discovered that our tanks were
unsuitable for the jungles and were returned to Australia ... a problem
existed for about fifty years for local fishermen caused by the ‘arc mesh' that
had been laid all over the bottom of the bay so amphibious vehicles driving
ashore would not get boggedit has taken fifty years for it to rust away.
North
8 EAST
LAE FELL MAR 1942 1060KM RECAPTURED SEPT 1943
Lae was the scene of vicious fighting between the Japanese and Australian
troops, and figures prominently in the history of the New Guinea campaign
13 EAST
PORT MORESBY 760KM KOKODA TRACK JUL42/JAN43 FINCHHAFEN OCT
1943 950KM
The Japanese wanted to take Port Moresby from the north, and they
thought the Kokoda Track was a motor track over the ranges ... in reality, at
that time it was a walking track, and no white man had traveled its full
distance for twenty years ... the Japanese forces got to within twenty-five
miles of Port Moresby and that put them about the same distance from
Cairns as Rockhampton
18 EAST
BATTLE OF THE BISMARK SEA MAR 1943 1470KM
This involved the annihilation of a Japanese reinforcement convoy,
prompting them never to try to reinforce their forces in East New Guinea
again ... and an important turning point in the war
26 EAST
RABUAL INVADED JAN 1942 (LARK FORCE) SURRENDERED SEPT 1945
1522KM
A long story, but later in the war bombers operating from Cape York helped
force the Japanese out of Rabual
***
DOUBLE ISLAND BEACH HOUSED A LOFT FOR CARRIER PIGEONS USED FOR
MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS
The landing barges used by Water Transport, at Chinaman’s Bay, were not
fitted with radios, and used carrier pigeons for keeping in touch with their
bases in New Guinea later in the war ... legend has it that, if they forgot to
send one back every evening with a report, their final count would be
wrong, and they would be censured ... they got around that problem by
cooking and eating any surplus birds
40 EAST
MILNE BAY (LAND BATTLE) SEPT 1942 700KM
I recall calling at Milne Bay with my late father in a Naval Ship during the mid
50's while he was recruiting the first sailors for the PNG Navy ... it is
renowned for it's very deep water, right up to the shoreline ... so deep, in
fact, that ships could be unloaded there during the war without the need for
wharves
46 EAST
BOUGAINVILLE JUN 1945 1520KM
50 EAST
DOUBLE ISLAND BEACH (TRINITY BEACH) AMPHIBIOUS TRAINING
MAR43/MAY45
Whilst amphibious training was carried out on several Marlin Coast beaches
from 1943 onwards, the main activity occurred here at Trinity during late
1944 and early 1945 to prepare for the invasion of Borneo ... many tens of
thousands of Australian troops were assembled in this area, and on the
Atherton Tablelands, to prepare for this operation
56 EAST
PEARL HARBOUR AIR ATTACK 7 DEC 1941 7230KM
Australia was already under threat at this time, and if the US hadn’t been
drawn into the war by the Pearl Harbour attack, we would have been quickly
overrun ... the Government called for voluntary evacuation in January 1942,
and about half the population of Cairns sold up and moved south or to the
Tablelands ... it didn’t take long for the Japanese to get down near here,
attacking the airstrip on Horn Island, near Thursday Island, in March 1942
63 EAST
BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA APR/MAY 1942 1350KM
This major sea encounter with principal ships sunk from both sides, was
another turning point of the war ... legend has it that people in Mossman
could see the gunfire and hear the explosions, but this is probably
exaggerated ... some have theorised that freak atmospheric conditions
might have made this possible
***
AIR CRASH 5TH MAY 1945 MAJ GENERAL VASEY, MAJ GENERAL DOWNES
AND OTHERS LOST 3KM OFF TRINITY / MACHANS BEACHES
Twenty-three Army people were killed when their aircraft was coming in to
land at Cairns on its way to New Guinea ... there was a cyclone with heavy
rain and high winds when the aircraft went down, and the first rescue
attempt was by a thirty foot workboat from the Water Transport base here
at Chinaman's Bay ... with General Vasey was the Chief of the Army Medical
Services, Major GeneraI Downes ... many dignitaries came to Cairns for the
funeral and burial in the Martyn Street Cemetery including General Sir
Thomas Blamey and General Sir Leslie Morehead, famous for his exploits at
Gallipoli
***
FOOD, FUEL AND CLOTHING RATIONED FROM 1942
We all got used to rationing but food and materials were very short ...
tobacco was rationed, so it was too valuable for kids to get hold of, and
probably saved a lot of young lungs ... butter too, and it became a precious
commodity, and as late as 1948, little squares were commonly used as
bartering currency at boarding school
87 EAST
GREEN ISLAND RECREATION 1942/45 29KM
One Hayles launch a week used to deliver food to the six families that had
permanent huts or camps on the island ... mainly to support older men who
used their launches to patrol the Grafton Passage through the reef, looking
for Japanese ships ... but dozens of barges used to run up onto the beach at
weekends to provide a day out for troops and nurses and other services'
personnel ... they sometimes had a rough crossing, being flat bottomed, and
many passengers got very seasick ... it is thought that they delivered the first
rats to the island, which eventually ate the bird's eggs and killed off the
island bird population
EAST to SOUTH
***
NORTH QUEENSLAND WAS A RESTRICTED AREA CIVILIAN ACCESS BY
PERMIT A PROVOST POST AT STRATFORD CONTROLLED ENTRY TO THE
BEACHES
Everyone required a special Government permit to get into North
Queensland from 1942 onwards, one was not needed to get out ... the
checkpoint was at EI Arish ... Vera Bradley, in her book "I Didn't Know That",
tells of one incident when a whole trainload of school children returning
home from their boarding schools at Charters Towers were refused entry
because they had no permits ... the train was held at EI Arish station until
the Army contacted all the parents and had them obtain the necessary
paperwork
***
1941/42 CAIRNS POPULATION DROPPED FROM 7000 TO HALF THROUGH
EVACUATIONS BELOW THE 'BRISBANE LINE'
116 SOUTH
FITZROY ISLAND RADAR STATION 35KM
In 1943, a primitive, manual radar station was built on Fitzroy Island by the
RAAF ... it was manned by forty personnel and the Navy had a 'Fairmile'
patrol boat stationed there to intercept any enemy craft that were spotted
... the accommodation that was built was taken over by the lighthouse
keeper after the war, and I recall many climbing adventures when, as
children, we battled to the very top of the island’s peak to sit in the remains
of the observation platform
121 SOUTH
FALSE CAPE GUN EMPLACEMENT LEPER BAY 20KM
Leper Bay was the original name for what is now known as Happy Bay ... it
appears that, prior to the war, the State Government decided to round up all
the lepers and house them in two isolated facilities, one on Palm Island near
Townsville and one here at False Cape ... this is the southern point in the
Cairns Inlet ... however, when it came time to round up the lepers, they only
found enough to fill one facility so the False Cape unit was never occupied ...
the Army installed two major 155mm defence guns there, which could fire
on ships which might try to enter the harbour ... their very substantial
concrete bunkers are still there and can be seen from tourist boats going out
to the reef
126 SOUTH
YORKEY’S KNOB HOTEL US OFFICERS CLUB 4KM
Yes, there was a hotel at the northern end of Yorkey’s Knob from prior to the
war to sometime in the 1950's ... during the war it was set up as a US
Officers rest and convalescent home and was closed to the public when too
many people were getting drunk and causing trouble ... it became a bit of a
'blood house' after the war and eventually burnt down, never to be rebuilt
***
CAIRNS BREWERY 17KM
The Cairns Brewery (the building still stands) was a major employer and
supplied beer all over the north and west to Mt Isa ... it's draught beer was
famous, due probably to the quality of the Cairns water supply ... until well
after the war, there was no bottling plant so the hotels bottled their own
beer from kegs and sometimes the cleanliness of the bottles was
questionable
***
ABBOTT ST AUSSIE VERSUS US RIOTS SEPT 1944
Tensions always did run high between the Yanks and the Aussies with a
limited number of girls and a limited supply of beer to share, but it all came
to a head when an incident started by an Australian soldier and some US
Provo's started an all out riot in the main street ... truckloads of troops came
into town, the Yanks from around Gordonvale and the Aussies from the
Northern Beaches, and literally hundreds got into it ... many were injured,
and it took days to quieten the town down ... legend has it that there was a
machine gun mounted atop the post office to maintain order but I have had
some trouble verifying this
140 SOUTH
HARBOUR BOOM DEFENCE SUBMARINE BARRIER 17KM
It was a wire net structure attached to pipe frames, which were anchored to
the bottom of the sea ... there was a barge at the corner about two-and-ahalf miles out from the RSL then it ran across to Bessie Point ... a flexible
mesh 'gate' could be opened from the barge with a winch ... the boom
defence was supposed to stop Japanese submarines getting in to the
wharves and shipping, and more particularly, the Catalina sea planes which
operated from the inlet ... it was still there many years after the war, which
was a nuisance, as boats had to go round it to get to the jetties and wharves
from the Esplanade
146 SOUTH
BRISBANE 1460KM "THE BRISBANE LINE"
The 'Brisbane Line' will always be a sore point with North Queenslanders ...
it was a line of tank bases strung out west of Brisbane to defend Australia
against a Japanese invasion ... the Government had no intention of trying to
defend the rest of Queensland and if you hadn't already evacuated below
the line, you were on your own
151 SOUTH
CAIRNS HMAS KURANDA/PLATYPUS TROPICAL/PLAZA THEATRES
TROCHADERO/AQUATIC DANCE HALLS 17KM ESPLANADE RAAF CATALINA
HQ BOLAND'S (US HQ)
HMAS Kuranda was a small Naval base located diagonally across from the
now Pacific Hotel ... for many years, the huts they left behind were used by
various community groups such as the lifesavers ... there were two picture
theatres operating, the Tropical and the Plaza, both in town ... the Rex, on
Sheridan Street, was used by the Americans as a store ... the two dance halls
did a roaring trade, the Aquatic being the Sailing Club, which is currently
under threat ... there was a large group of huts built out over the sea from
the Esplanade, where the Catalina Headquarters were located ... the historic
department store, Bolands, was taken over as the US Army Headquarters
157 SOUTH
"DEVIL'S ISLAND" (ADMIRALTY ISLAND) CATALINA SLIPWAY
There were a lot of Catalina seaplanes stationed in Cairns, and the sandy
slipway they used for maintenance is still to be seen on the northern end of
Admiralty Island ... in those days, the Air Force called it Devil's Island ... not a
bad name when you consider the mosquitoes and sand flies ... it was strictly
illegal to throw rubbish into the inlet from boats or wharves, particularly
bottles ... this was because a Catalina taking off or landing could rip a great
hole in their hulls if they struck anything solid
163 SOUTH
TOWNSVILLE AIR RAIDS JULY 1942 310KM
These 'air raids' seem to have been half-hearted affairs, and were probably
more about reconnaissance
166 SOUTH
GORDONVALE US PARATROOPS 35KM
There were three-thousand-five-hundred American paratroopers stationed
at Gordonvale during 1943 and many local women were employed packing
their parachutes ... there were often fights in the town, not, surprisingly
between the Yanks and the Aussies, but between the paratroopers and US
Marines and others who would try to muzzle in on their limited pub beer
supplies ... one very memorable incident was when there were many and
varied reports of a large Japanese paratrooper force landing in Gordonvale ...
in fact, it was an American character who got drunk with a nurse and
promised to organize a parachute jump for her the next morning at first light
... he found a plane, a couple of pilots, and an ambulance in case there was
an accident, and pulled it off
170 SOUTH
"FAIRVIEW" (HOUSE ON THE HILL) Z FORCE 1943 16KM
The first Mayor of Cairns, Richard Kingsford, grandfather of Sir Charles
Kingsford Smith, built this home on its hill ... but it became better known for
housing the famous 'Z Force' which departed Cairns in the Krait in August
1943 for the raid on Singapore shipping ... during their training, the folboat
crews often slept on these very beaches whilst preparing for their incredibly
courageous task
173 SOUTH
SYDNEY SUBMARINE ATTACK MAY 1942 2040KM
The Japanese miniature submarine attack on Sydney Harbour, which sank
several ships, is well documented ... but what is lesser known is the
Japanese submarine activity here around Cairns ... two positive sightings
were made at Green Island and Fitzroy Island at different times, and a group
of Japanese sailors, walking along the beach, were met by people at
Yarrabah
179 SOUTH
COWRA PRISON BREAKOUT AUGUST 1944
Despite the fact that Japanese troops had been schooled to die rather than
surrender there were, by August 1944, 2223 Japanese prisoners of war in
Australia, including 544 merchant seamen ... there were also 14720 Italian
prisoners, mostly from the Middle East, and 1585 Germans, mostly naval or
merchant seamen ... there were 1100 Japanese prisoners in one camp who
decided to break out one night ... in the ensuing guntight and roundup, 234
Japanese died and 108 were wounded ... thirty-one killed themselves and 12
were burnt to death in huts set on fire by the Japanese ... the Australian
22nd Garrison Battalion lost 3 killed and 3 wounded
SOUTH to WEST
183 WEST
REDLYNCH/JUNGARA FIELD HOSPITALS 1944/45 13KM
Reputed to be the largest 'field' hospital in the Pacific, it was built at
Redlynch in late 1943 ... it comprised 124 prefabricated buildings of
considerable size and had sewerage, power and water from Crystal Cascades
... a siding on the Kuranda Range Railway at Jungara was used to shunt Red
Cross carriages going to and from the airfields on the Tablelands ... the
original Redlynch School was taken over as the administration centre
189’ WEST
LAKE BARRINE/EACHAM RECREATION 51KM
The crater lakes were a very popular spot for the troops aften their arduous
jungle training, and on many occasions large numbers could be seen route
marching along the roads heading there for a swim
192 WEST
KAMERUNGA CROSSING STAGING CAMP 10KM
On the banks of the Barron River, this very large staging camp operated for
three years, housing tens of thousands of troops on their way to the war,
just for a few nights ... it comprised of hundreds of six man tents, six
kitchens and two prefab mess halls that could feed one thousand men at a
sitting
***
THE TOURIST "GRANDSTAND CARRIAGES" CONVERTED FOR RED CROSS
CARRIED WOUNDED SERVICEMEN
Just before the war, the railways had built four new carriages to enhance the
scenic rail experience ... the tiered seats ran front to back and they had
larger than usual windows ... so when they looked for the best carriages to
convert for stretcher cases, these were identified ... they were gutted and
refitted ... but sadly, after the war, no one remembered, so they were
refurbished again as ordinary carriages ... I located them finally, and bought
them for Destination Projects many years later and perhaps they are still in
use
207 WEST
KURANDA RANGE RAILWAY 9KM
Restrictions on the Kuranda Range Railway were forgotten during the war ...
so heavy was the traffic, getting troops back and forth from all the camps
and airnelds, that during one twenty-four-hour period, fourty-three trains
made the journey ... it was common for two fully loaded trains to leave close
to each other, then on reaching Kuranda, they would be coupled together so
one engine could pull it on to its destination ... the other engine would
return to Cairns for the next job ... the evacuation plan for Cairns civilians
was for everyone to get to the station, board a waiting train, which would
park in a tunnel on the range until the air raids finished ... or so it is said
210 WEST
ROCKY CREEK CAMP HOSPITAL 50KM
From 1942 to 1946, a massive hospital operated at Rocky Creek, on the
highway between Mareeba and Atherton ... two twelve-hundred bed
hospitals, supplemented by cook houses, messes, staff accommodation
(many under canvas), and everything that was needed to look after the
thousands of wounded being brought back from New Guinea and the Pacific
... a very fine Memorial Park is located on the site and everyone should visit
it
216 WEST
ATHERTON TABLELANDS JUNGLE TRAINING
The area around Malanda and Ravenshoe were considered particularly
suitable for jungle training, and many Australians recall their encounters
with leeches, wait-a-whiles, stinging trees, snakes and spiders ... many of
them were returning from a long time in the Middle East, and their
experiences in the desert would hardly have prepared them for the jungles
of New Guinea
220 WEST
MAREEBA HEAVY BOMBER AIRSTRIP PARASHUTE TRAINING ANTI
AIRCRAFT BATTERIES 37KM
This very large airfield was the main staging point for planes headed on to
New Guinea and the islands ... it had search light units, anti aircraft units,
and all sorts of support facilities too numerous to mention here ... at one
point, it was operated by two thousand Army and two hundred Air Force
personnel
230 WEST
BARRON FALLS HYDRO ELECTRICITY GENERATION 7KM
Built before the war, this hydro-electricity generating plant is still housed in a
cave below the Barron Falls ... although it was abandoned long ago, the
machines can still be seen by the very adventurous ... no power networks in
those days, and most of the regions power came from this source,
supplemented by a gas powered station in McLeod Street
***
DURING 1944/45 THE ATHERTON TABLELANDS CAMPED TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF AUSTRALIAN AND US TROOPS TRAINING FOR THE FINAL
SOUTH PACIFIC OFFENSIVES
Probably the most effective kick start the tourist industry could ever have ...
tens of thousands of troops getting a preview of the area ... many have
returned in subsequent years and there might still be some who can
appreciate this memorial
248 WEST
BAMBOO CREEK BOMBING JULY 1942 10KM
In July 1942, a Japanese plane, assumed to come from the Solomon Islands,
did drop a bomb at Miallo, up near Rocky Point ... it is thought that it was
looking for the Cairns airstrip ... no one was hurt, but some chooks were
decapitated and there was a large crater in a farmer’s yard ... a school kid
took some bomb casing fragments to school and it is believed they are still
in a museum up there somewhere
***
FOOD FOR THE TROOPS WAS PRODUCED ON THE TABLELANDS BY THE
AUST WOMEN'S LAND ARMY
Women were recruited to fill the vacancies caused by the enlistment of
many farm workers ... they went where they were sent and lived in barracks
or were billeted out ... issued with overalls and other work gear, they wore
an Army type uniform when not working ... the girls were trained to drive
tractors and trucks, and without them, feeding the thousands of troops here
and in the Pacific would have been an impossible task
261 WEST
KARUMBA CATALINA FLYING BOAT BASE 395KM
Most of the 'Cats' were based in Cairns and Bowen, but in 1943 it was
decided to station a squadron at Kurumba, in the Gulf, to better reach the
enemy bases around the Solomon Islands ... remarkably, there were already
facilities there for flying boats, as Qantas stopped there for fuel for the
Sunderland plane they operated between Sydney and London ... with
excellent range for reconnaissance, the all time record was set when a Cat
from Caims stayed in the air for thirty-eight hours and twenty-five minutes
269 WEST
BROOME AIR RAIDS MAR 1942 2540KM
WEST to NORTH
***
BONES KNOB (ATHERTON) RAAF STATION BROKE THE ENEMY CODES TO
SHORTEN WAR
Bones Knob, just up the hill to the north of Tolga, had a radar station ... but
more importantly, it housed a Special RAAF Wireless Unit, which intercepted
radio traffic between enemy forces ... it is recorded that it was their work in
breaking enemy codes, which helped to shorten the war
287 NORTH
DARWIN AIR RAIDS 1942/43 1680KM
On 19 February 1942, 188 planes were launched against Darwin whose
harbour was full of ships ... a second raid of 54 bombers was launched two
hours later on the same day ... the raids on 19 February were the first two of
sixty-four raids against the Darwin area and its nearby airfields, which bore
the brunt of Japanese attacks on mainland Australia
294 NORTH
SINGAPORE FELL FEB 1942 4784KM
There have been a million words written and said about the fall of
Singapore, but we must always remember the seven hundred Australians
who died trying to defend the town and the Malayan peninsular
***
THE SANDAKAN DEATH MARCH COMMENCED JAN 1945
2345 men deliberately murdered by the Japanese while our troops were
here, in Cairns, training for the invasion of Borneo ... the fact that it was not
prevented is often put down to the American Forces refusing to supply ships
to liberate these prisoners before the march began
307 NORTH
BORNEO SANDAKAN TARAKAN MAY 1945 LABUAN IS JUNE 1945 BRUNEI
JUNE 1945 3900KM
The invasion of Borneo was an entirely Australian project ... to help explain
its extent, the final assault on Balikpapan involved 33,000 troops, all of
whom would have been stationed in this area prior to the invasion
315 NORTH
LAURA RAAF AERODROME 140KM
Significant airfields were constructed in several Cape York locations because
they put our bombers closer to targets like Rabual ... there was great
concern that the Japanese might occupy Cape York, with its isolation, plenty
of channels through the reef for support shipping, and plenty of food ... the
Australians recognised that invading Japanese could live well off all the
cattle that were bred in that region, there for the taking
319 NORTH
PALM BEACH NAVAL BEACH COMMANDOES 1945 4KM
There were two Naval Commando groups on the Marlin Coast ... one was
camped at Palm Cove and the other at Deep Creek, about where the
Paradise Palms golf clubhouse is sitting ... always a sore point with my father,
Commanding Officer of the second group, was that the Japanese should
build a clubhouse on his old headquarters site
329 NORTH
TORRES STRAIT HORN ISLAND AIR ATTACKS 650KM THURSDAY ISLAND
NAVAL SUPPLY AND REPAIR BASE
The communications facilities and airfields in the Torres Straits were under
heavy fighter and bomber attack during the war and stories abound of 'dog
fights' between Zeros and Lockheed Lightenings over the islands
337 NORTH
IRON RANGE HEAVY BOMBER AIRSTRIP 425KM PORTLAND ROADS ARMY
HARBOUR
The airstrip at Iron Range did exist before the war, when it was used by two
wing commercial aircraft ... it was the best available site for long-range
bombers to fly to Rabaul and return without refuelling
347 NORTH
COOKTOWN HEAVY BOMBER AND FIGHTER AIRSTRIP PLANES OPERATED
FROM COOKTOWN TO THE BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA 110KM
Planes involved in the Battle of the Coral Sea were actually stationed at
Laura, a distance inland, but used Cooktown as an emergency strip ... a
memorable story involved Army personnel travelling to Cooktown on the
Laura railway on leave in the open topped carriages ... popular sport was
shooting wild pigs from the carriages, then getting the driver to stop the
train so they could collect the carcasses
355 NORTH
MADANG 1260KM
A memorial stands at Madang, dedicated to the thirty-six coast watchers
who died passing on intelligence to the Australian Forces during the war ...
these very brave men, assisted by the natives, did an exceptional job, and it
is appropriate that they are remembered here at Trinity Beach through the
naming of Coastwatcher Park, where this memorial was previously located
Reference
http://www.ronebergcairns.com/2010onwards/sharon2010_087.html