US troops practice landing at Port Stephens, NSW, during World War 2.
The wartime US invasion of Port Stephens
At the peak of the Allied Pacific campaign in World War 2, more than 14,000 American and British troops were based in the Shoal Bay area of Port Stephens. Shoal Bay's famous country club was requisitioned to become a headquarters for part of the amphibious warfare training area known as JOOTS (Joint Overseas Operations Training Services). The Royal Australian Navy called its training establishment HMAS Assault, and the ships HMAS Westralia, HMAS Manoora, HMAS Kanimbla and USS Henry T. Allen were frequently in the port, along with more than 130 other vessels of varying sizes. The…