Redlands in WWII
An exhibition to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII.
11 August - 4 October 2005
Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland, Gallery 1, 2, 3, 4
In 1939 the Redlands was a peaceful farming community. The declaration of World War II saw men and women leave the district to join the fight on distant shores. Others stayed behind and turned their hands to skilled or unfamiliar labour, playing their part in the war effort.
Sixty years on people choosing to make the Redlands home, have brought with them experiences of lives changed by war. This exhibition serves to share the war time memories of our community.
Curated by Emma Bain and Rick Thomason.
The War Years in the Redlands
1939
Coochiemudlo Island
In 1939 the 42nd and 43rd Water Transport Divisions of the Operating Company of the Royal Australian Engineers were stationed on Coochiemudlo Island to train to move personnel around New Guinea.
Their camp was where the 9th hole of the Coochie Golf Club is now.
1941
Cleveland
The annual Cleveland Show, held in the old showgrounds between the Grand View Hotel and Raby Bay, took patriotism as its theme and red, white and blue were the main colours used. The show was noted for its display of some of the largest gerberas ever seen in Cleveland, with flowers at least four inches across. The ring attractions included a display of trestle bridge building by 17 boy scouts and a display by the Cleveland Sub-Division of the Women's National Emergency Legion of emergency stretcher work and bandaging 'which attracted favourable comment from the spectators'.
Redland Bay
Between 300 and 400 people from all parts of the Redlands district attended a rodeo at Mr Muller's farm in Redland Bay. About 25 pounds was raised for the Australian Comforts Fund for the war effort.
1942
Birkdale
The Australian Women's Land Army established a camp at the Birkdale School of Arts Hall. The girls worked at many local farms from Wellington Point to Cleveland. Other camps were located at Victoria Point and Redland Bay.
Cleveland
Two Wirraways engaged in exercises from the Archerfield aerodrome collided in mid-air above Moreton Bay. One came down near the Cleveland Cemetery and the other on Ziegenfusz Park. Four airmen were killed.
North Stradbroke Island
The American Liberty Ship Rufus King ran aground on the South Passage bar. The ship was wrecked but no lives were lost. The ship was carrying supplies for field hospitals from Los Angeles to Brisbane, and for weeks afterwards the islanders benefited from the flotsam including tins of coffee, drums of aviation fuel, bags of cotton and even turkeys intended for the American troops' Thanksgiving.
By this stage, World War II was having a significant impact on the island – armed service personnel were stationed there; radio tents were set up and a radio direction finder, radar, power plant and gun emplacements were constructed at Point Lookout. A second telephone line was erected between Dunwich, Amity and Point Lookout, vastly improving the old service.
1943
North Stradbroke Island
The Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was torpedoed off Stradbroke Island on 14th May 1943. 268 lives were lost and only 64 people survived.
Wellington Point
A gunnery school for the US Navy was set up on the tip of Wellington Point and operated until 1944. Locals were not allowed on the site and could only access the kiosk and the jetty. The Americans held regular shooting practice, including attempts at 'bombing' King Island. A series of gun pits were built along the north-east shoreline. A plane towing a silk drogue target would fly over. The target was dropped into the sea when the shooting finished and the local women would row out to fetch the silk targets (Many Wellington Point homes boasted new silk bedspreads at that time). The American camp was a large one comprising about 1500 men.
Capalaba
American soldiers were also stationed at Capalaba on the flats behind the hotel. About 300 – 400 soldiers stayed on site, with the officers billeted at the hotel. Among other things, the Americans introduced Coca Cola to the area.
1944 – 1945
By the end of 1944 the pressures of war were easing. Slit trenches in the district were filled in and blacking out removed. Trenches provided at the various parish halls in the district as air raid shelters had become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and committees of management notified they would be filled in and that blacking out of their halls could be removed. Particulars of a Government subsidy scheme to assist with carrying out post-war work were forwarded to the two Shire Councils. Food and clothing rationing continued for a considerable time.
Cleveland
For six months from the beginning of 1944 the Ship and Gun Crew Command No. 1 occupied the Cleveland Point Reserve as a firing range, installing a concrete gun platform for a 20mm Oerlikon Gun. The firing area was contained within the angle formed by the eastern end of St Helena Island, Cleveland Point Lighthouse and the northwest tip of Amity Point and extended seaward to a distance of about eight miles.
Thornside
The Thornside Progress Association was formed. Initially it was concerned with the allocation of street lighting and the activities of American soldiers.
Acknowledgement – Redland Shire Council Libraries, Local History
Image: November 1939, Redland Boys, 15th BN, Queen Street, Brisbane. Image courtesy of the Redland Museum.
