peter and berry hackett

Veteran proud to share Darwin story

ON Christmas morning, 1941, Peter Hackett slipped into a coma as the Ghan pulled into Oodnadatta. It was not the ideal start to his active service as a gunner

USS Peary sailors remembered at service

USS Peary sailors remembered at service
PHILLIPPA BUTT HUNDREDS of people attended a service in Darwin this morning to commemorate the 88 sailors who lost their lives on the USS Peary 75 years ago today

Life changed forever as bombers circled

Life changed forever as bombers circled
TAMARA HOWIE As Arthur Wellington put pen to paper in the eve of February 18, 1942, he would have never predicted how life would change for his family the following morning

The day bloody hell rained down

The day bloody hell rained down
LUCY HUGHES-JONES One of the last surviving World War II veterans to witness the Darwin bombings says the diggers involved never got the recognition they deserved

Darwin’s secret underground shelters

Darwin’s secret underground shelters
Gary Shipway STILL hidden within the hilly terrain and dense bushland are a network of bomb storage shelters that reveal a desperate cat-and-mouse tale of hide and seek from Japanese bombers

‘We thought it was a bomb’

‘We thought it was a bomb’
PHILLIPPA BUTT HANNAH Seaman and her son Kai were on a hunt for seashells when they spotted this historic artefact at Lee Point Beach

10 workmates killed at Post Office

10 workmates killed at Post Office
PHILLIPPA BUTT RICHARD Corr was just going about his day-to-day duties in the Darwin Post Office when the first bombs fell on February 19, 1942

Cop ‘threatened to carry mum away’

Cop ‘threatened to carry mum away’
LUCY HUGHES-JONES DARWIN resident Wendy James was six years old when a military policeman threatened to carry her mother over his shoulder when she refused to evacuate before war came to Australia

Bombing veteran recalls Darwin experience

Bombing veteran recalls Darwin experience
MATT GARRICK “IT was an extremely hot place.” At 95, Alan Day proves himself to still be a master of understatement as he peers back three quarters of a century, to his life as a medical orderly in the Top End

Territory’s war story needs to be told

Territory’s war story needs to be told
MOLLY BAXTER Three diggers, two serving and one retired, meet to discuss the Territory’s important role in World War II — and how little Australia still knows about it

Darwin bombing raids number ‘much higher’

Darwin bombing raids number ‘much higher’
GARY SHIPWAY STARTLING new research has found that the number of air raids on Darwin and the Top End is much higher than history has recorded it

Legend of the naked gunner

Legend of the naked gunner
TAMARA HOWIE BULLETS sliced the air around Wilbert “Darky” Hudson as he stood in the middle of the battlefield – far more exposed than his fully clothed comrades.

Salvaging forgiveness

Salvaging forgiveness
TAMARA HOWIE The destruction of the bombs rained on Darwin left deep scars in the town. But an unlikely story of forgiveness and reconciliation emerged in the years that followed

How the Spitfire defended Australia

How the Spitfire defended Australia
MOLLY BAXTER ON February 19, 1942, and the first bombs were dropped on Australian soil. It wasn’t even 10 in the morning

Lest we forget NT’s darkest hour

Lest we forget NT’s darkest hour
MATT GARRICK HELL rained down upon Darwin on February 19, 1942, and those still alive to remember the horror are preparing to make the pilgrimage back to ground zero

The NT at war: the civilian impact

The NT at war: the civilian impact
FOR civilians in the Territory in World War II, it was a time of unrelenting hardship and tough work

‘Shrapnel fell from sky like rain’

‘Shrapnel fell from sky like rain’
Barry Greenwood will never forget the sounds of bombs falling on Darwin

Bombing of Darwin boosted resolve to fight on

Bombing of Darwin boosted resolve to fight on
The Bombing of Darwin brought World War II to Australian shores, but it also rallied a nation and strengthened its resolve to never surrender

’Got to let bygones be bygones’

’Got to let bygones be bygones’
Nearly 75 years on from the Bombing of Darwin, former infantryman Alan Godfrey is happy to leave old fears and hatreds in the past

Bombing of Darwin changed Territory forever

Bombing of Darwin changed Territory forever
It was the moment World War II came to our shores and changed the Northern Territory and Australia forever