80th Anniversary of the bombing of Darwin, Darwin NT

[E&OE]

Good morning.

It is a privilege for Linda and me to be with you this morning on this very special day in the history of Darwin, the Northern Territory and, of course, Australia.

Aunty [Bilawara Lee], can I thank you for your very warm Welcome to Country. Having lived in Darwin I know how beautiful this area is and I thank you and previous generations for looking after this country for us so well for thousands of years and pay respect to your elders, past and present.

  • Her Honour the Hon Vicki O’Halloran AO, Administrator of the Northern Territory
  • The Hon Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia
  • His Excellency Mark Glauser, High Commissioner for Canada
  • Her Excellency Ines Maria de Almeida, Ambassador of Timor-Leste
  • His Excellency Shingo Yamagami, Ambassador of Japan, and members of the Diplomatic Corps
  • The Hon Peter Dutton MP, Minister for Defence
  • The Hon Andrew Gee MP, Minister for Defence Personnel; Minister for Veterans Affairs
  • The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Leader of the Opposition
  • The Hon Michael Gunner MLA, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, and members of the Legislative Assembly
  • The Hon Kon Vatskalis, The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Darwin
  • Chief Justice Michael Grant AO, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
  • Brigadier Nicholas Foxall AM DSM, Commander 1st Brigade, representing the Chief of the Defence Force
  • Major Stephen Draper, representing the United States Marine Corps
  • Mr Luke Gosling OAM MP, Member for Solomon
  • The Hon Ngaree Ah Kit MLA, Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
  • Mrs Lia Finocchiaro MLA, Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Territory
  • Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I was in two minds about going through that [VIP] list this morning! But I chose to because I wanted to emphasise how significant this day is in our national history. And why so many people in senior positions in our country and from overseas have decided that they wanted to be here to share it with Territorians and the nation.

This commemoration is an important occasion to remember and honour those who were killed, wounded or injured on 19 February 1942 serving our nation and to, more broadly, recognise all those who served during World War 2. We also honour those of other nations with whom we fought alongside that day.

Eighty years ago today, war came to Australia. Darwin was levelled – lives lost, buildings destroyed, infrastructure crippled. The city, and a nation, in shock.

My remarks today are informed by a fleeting personal experience.

In December 1974 as a cadet at the Royal Military College I travelled through Darwin on my way to the United Kingdom on an exchange visit to Sandhurst. Four weeks later we landed at Darwin Airport or what remained of it after Cyclone Tracy. As we flew in I looked out the windows and I could see the devastation that Tracy had left. Homes flattened, people displaced, the control tower was six pieces of crumpled metal, debris everywhere. Emotions ran high; there was hardship on a grand scale in Darwin. The community was reeling and on its knees … but not down and out.

That scene, I believe, would not have been dissimilar to what was occurring in Darwin on this day, 80 years ago.

On that day this port right next to us bore the force of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Two hundred and fifty-two Allied service personnel and civilians lost their lives. Military and civilian infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. A city pummelled; its people reeling and on their knees … but not down and out.

Here is an example [from '1942: The year the war came to Australia' by Peter Grose]. It relates to my Office. Mr Ivan Sinclair, who was imprisoned at Fannie Bay Gaol, led a blameless life, they say, but had been convicted for a shooting incident in the bush. On the night of the attack all the prisoners were released. Rather than disappear into the bush, Ivan, who was an Ambulance man, sought out the hospital and the ARP, remained in Darwin and went on to treat 113 victims with dedication and skill. For that, the Governor-General at the time, Lord Gowrie, granted him a full pardon – the first free pardon in Australia since Federation.

Ivan’s story tells us a lot about ourselves. Hearing the song, ‘My Country’, reminds me of the Dorothea Mackellar poem of the same name where she tells us that our country throws a lot at us and we experience much, but for all of that she pays us back threefold. One of the reasons it does that and is able to do that is you, sitting here today, and our partners who fought here and elsewhere in the Second World War.

Linda and I see the same characteristics as we travel around Australia.

We’ve had a lot thrown at us in the last two years. But, in times of adversity, it is the characteristics of strength, grit, determination and compassion that define us as a nation.

That is who we were in 1942.

It is who were in 1974.

And it is who we are today.

Lest we forget.

[Ends]