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Militaria

Read more about the article Wartime fears of a seaman’s daughter
Wounded seaman being carried from the damaged freighter Allara in Newcastle, 1942

Wartime fears of a seaman’s daughter

FOR young Daphne Roper the most important thing about any ship entering Newcastle Harbour in the difficult years of World War II was its funnel. Daphne’s father Alexander McMorran was a chief engineer with the “iron ships” of BHP, and she knew the company’s ore-carrying vessels bore two blue bands on the top half of their funnels. Seeing a ship with the two blue bands make its way around Nobbys was an exciting sight for Daphne, her mother Anne and her little sister Annie. “During those years, with Japanese submarines haunting Australia’s east coast, each goodbye…

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Read more about the article Japanese mini-submarines on tour
Japanese mini-submarine on fund-raising tour in Newcastle in 1942

Japanese mini-submarines on tour

On May 31 and June 1, 1942, mini-submarines, launched from a large Japanese mother-sub, the I-24, attacked Sydney Harbour.The subs caused havoc, sinking the converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul (being used as a navy depot ship) with the loss of 21 lives before they were themselves destroyed. A few days later I-24 attacked and sank the merchant ship Iron Chieftain off the Central Coast, killing 12 crew. The Kuttabul, here seen being fitted out at Walsh Island dockyard, Newcastle, in 1922. After the mini-submarines were destroyed, Australian defence authorities raised the remains of two, assembled parts from…

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Read more about the article When Sabre jets crashed on Newcastle
A RAAF Sabre jet in the 1960s

When Sabre jets crashed on Newcastle

WHILE Newcastle suffered some light damage when it was shelled by a Japanese submarine in 1942, the city has been far more heavily scarred by the accidental impact of “friendly” forces.During the 1960s two Korean War-era Sabre jets from the Williamtown RAAF base smashed spectacularly into city suburbs. In each case, it was declared a miracle that no civilians were seriously hurt, although - tragically - one air force pilot lost his life. The first suburb to be hit was Mayfield, on Wednesday, November 12, 1963, when one of eight fighter jets engaged in an exercise…

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