 Lat 16° 55' 0S Long 145° 46' 0E Coatal town in Northern Queensland.
Air Raid July 30-31, 1942
At 3.30 a.m. on 31 July 1942 an H8K2 Emily piloted by Mizukura dropped 8 bombs. One bomb fell that same night on a sugar cane farm at Saltwater, 16 kms from Mossman. It exploded about 50 meters from a galvanised shed owned by Selice Zeillo. His two and a half year old daughter received a wound to the head from shrapnel which pierced the house and smashed a number of windows. She was in her cot at the time. The bomb left a large crater seven metres across and one metre deep. Metal fragments from the bomb were later found with Japanese markings on them. Mikukura arrived back at Rabaul at 10.10 am after a 17 hour flight. [ Oz at War ]
Cairns Museum
Located in town, this museum has an extensive photo collection of WWII era in Cairns, artifacts and displays.
Sheridan Street Camp
Army Camp located along Sheridan, Dutton and Spence Stret.
| Cairns
Airfield |
 Wartime History
During the war, was home to P-40 and P-39 interceptors
that did anti-submarine patrols and patrols. Cairns was used
as a base for the RAAF for
11 and 20 Catalina Squadrons. It was well developed as a wartime base by the end of the war.
Today
The airport has been used since the war, and is the city's international airport to this day. A monument to the war history is located at the beach front near the hospital.
|
| Cairns
Harbor (PT-Boat Base, Seaplane Base) |
Harbor
 During 1942-3 Ciarns
was an important USN and RAN center, with oil storage, floating dock, slipway
and small craft repair facility. An anti-submarine boom was installed across the harbor, with a net portion that would open to allow ships to enter. The wharph was improved
by the 55th Seabee Battatlion, to support the 7th Fleet's smaller ships.
By the middle of the war, Cairns was replaced by Miline Bay as the primary
USN transhipment center.
PT Boat Base
A US Navy PT Boat base for ferrying boats northward via Thursday
Island.
Seaplane Base
Located at the Esplanade towards False Cape
Based RAAF 41 Squadron (PBM)
|
Trinity Bay
The site of amphibious training conducted by the US
Army's 532nd Special Engineer Unit and at Palm Cove along the beachfront
there is a memorial plaque to this activity. There is also a memorial
to Maj. Gen. Vasey, CG 7th Australian Division, who along with ten others
was killed when a RAAF Hudson crashed into the water on approach to
Cairns. Thanks to Alan Kelly
for this history.
WWII British Mine Discovery
 An
old British mine found on a reef off Cairns by s tourist snorkeling January 31, 2002. The mine, which had been drifting around the world's oceans for more
than 50 years, was discovered at Sudbury Reef, 45 nautical
miles southeast of the far north Queensland city. Department of Defence
spokesman Mark Tanzer said a small charge would be attached to the mine
and set off by remote control between 9am and 11am (AEST). He said a
navy ordnance diver had identified the mine as an anti-shipping type
used by the British during World War II. "They were usually anchored
to the sea bed, but rough weather and the effects of corrosion could
have let it drift free," Mr Tanzer said. He said the mine could
contain up to 230kg of TNT.
Woree
Ammunition storage facility, near Cairns
|
