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1939 - the
Minister for Army approved Adelaide River as a military farm
and rest area ... some 23 hectares were cropped with vegetables,
poultry and eggs ... this increased to 50 hectares in 1943 ...
production continued until the end of the war 1941 - an Army Supply Depot was built north of the river ... an additional siding was built in the railway yard for the hospital train and a large army camp was built in the north of the railway yard 1942 - a large Ordinance Depot and supply complex with refrigerated stores, an abattoir, bulk fuel depot, ration stores, clothing stores and engineering facility were part of a number of units established for the war effort ... storage and supply depots were established on two spur lines north of the township ... a military hospital (119 Australian General Hospital) was established with 1200 beds and this was to the north of the railway station ... the railway bridge was decked to allow vehicles to cross during the wet season ... on the 19th February were the first Japanese Air Raids on Darwin and civilians evacuated ... the Adelaide River airstrip, used by RAAF in the pre-war years for an Advanced Operational Base for training Hudson Bomber and Wirraway air crew was, in April 1942, occupied by Kittyhawk fighters of the USAAF ... an aboriginal compound was established for evacuees from the islands and coastal areas of the top end ... a large Amercian HQ was established at Adelaide River (officers had porcelain bogs!) known as Base Section One ... a US hospital was also established ... Adelaide River was bombed on the night of 12th October 1943 - the Australian Navy established an extensive ammunition and refuelling store at Snake Creek, with a rail siding ... it was later taken over by the RAAF and used until 1967 ... the railway line was strengthened and reballasted to carry the massive increase in traffic of up to 247 trains per week ... Adelaide River became a critical strategic base and was bombed again on the night of 13th November, the last bombing raid over the Australian mainland |
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