01/09/2026
Today we commemorate the Battle for Australia, remembering a pivotal period during the Second World War when Australia faced a very real threat from advancing Japanese forces across the Pacific.
Following the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942, Australia’s security was placed under immense pressure. In the months that followed, Darwin and other Australian towns and cities came under Japanese air attacks, while Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour and attacked Allied vessels.
Japanese forces also advanced through the Pacific, occupying parts of the Solomon Islands and landing in Papua New Guinea. These events brought the war much closer to Australia leading to a series of significant military campaigns and battles.
The Battle for Australia was not one single battle, but a term used to recognise the many critical engagements fought during this period, including the bombing of Darwin, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Kokoda Track campaign, the Battle of Milne Bay and the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.
Today we honour and remember the courage, sacrifice and service of all the Australian men and women who served during the Second World War, as well as those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of our nation.
Lest we forget.
📸Aerial view of two Japanese Aichi D3A Navy Type 99 Val carrier bombers from the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Shokaku. This type of aircraft were used at the bombing of Pearl Harbour and Darwin and although considered obsolete, as they were the last Japanese carrier-borne aircraft to use a fixed spatted undercarriage, they were very successful and sank more Allied fighting ships than any other single type of Japanese aircraft in the first ten months of the war. This image is an enlargement duplicated from AWM Film no. F03354, frame 18296.
