Battle for Australia Day
Today we say thank you to all Australians who served in the Battle for Australia during the Second World War.
The years 1942–45 was a challenging time for our nation. Australia had already committed troops to fight in Europe, but soon after Japan attacked Allied forces in 1941, the war came to our own shores.
Each year, on the first Wednesday of September, we commemorate Battle for Australia Day.
The ‘Battle for Australia’ was declared by Prime Minster John Curtin following the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942.
Just a few days later, the reality of the Second World War hit the Australian mainland when Darwin was attacked by Japanese aircraft. Raids continued across northern Australia until 1943.
In May and June 1942, Sydney Harbour was attacked by Japanese midget submarines, who sank the HMAS Kuttabul with the loss of 19 Australians and 2 British sailors.
Our personnel were also involved in battles across Asia and the Pacific, one of which is the subject of the image below. The Battle of the Coral Sea, 4–8 May 1942, was the largest naval battle ever fought off the Australian coast.
Other battles and campaigns Australians were involved in around this time included those on the Kokoda Track, at Milne Bay in Papua, and New Guinea.
For more information on Battle for Australia Day, visit DVA’s Anzac Portal.
May 1944. Five warships of Task Force 44 steaming in line ahead on patrol during the Battle of the Coral Sea. From left: the cruisers USS Chicago, USS Salt Lake City, HMAS Australia and HMAS Canberra.