70th Anniversary of the Bombing of Kalumburu MissionPrint Page

Two plaques commemorate the 70th anniversary of the bombing of the Kalumburu (Drysdale) Mission during World War Two.  One plaque was laid on the spot where six people were killed while hiding in a trench during the bombing of Drysdale River Mission.

Drysdale Mission airfield located in the northern part of Western Australia, was a refuelling and ammunition depot for the Royal Australian Air Force (R.A.A.F.) anti-submarine aircraft operating between Darwin and Fremantle.  It was situated next to the isolated Benedictine mission on the banks of the King Edward River, about 8 miles the the south of Napier-Broome Bay.

On 27 September 1943, the Japanese planes bombed and machine gunned the airfield. The ammunition hut exploded when it was hit by a bomb. There were no casualties at the airfield but a direct hit on a slit trench at the Mission itself, killed Father Thomas Gil OSB and five aboriginals (one woman and four children ).  Fr Sanz OSB had painted “MISSION” on both sides of the monastery roof in red paint.

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