"It was a Different Town" Being Some Memories Of Townsville and District 1942-1945 (1992) By C. Copeman & D. Vance
 
The attitude in north Queensland towards the war abruptly changed after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
 
With the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Townsville City Council realised that the region was vulnerable to attack and immediately set about implementing schemes for the protection of civilians from possible air raids.
 
This included constructing trenches around the city, appealing to the public to provide their shelters at home, and installing search lights at key locations around the city. Despite the preparations made by the council, both the council and civilians felt that the city’s defences were inadequate, and initially, many felt abandoned by the Federal Government. By 1942, preparations were underway to transform Townsville into a garrison town, with the city’s population swelling from 30,000 before the war to about 90,000 by the middle of 1943.88 This would affect the Bohle, with the construction of the Bohle River airfield, the Black River Hospital, and several other camps in the district. All of this activity increased the district’s population and brought the war to the doorstep of the Bohle community. The arrival of Australian and American military personnel would also expose the civilian population of the Bohle to new ideas and lead to a change in the way of life for the district.
 
Soft Cover
64 Pages
In Good Condition