The Bombing of Darwin - Government HousePrint Page

The plaque commemorates the impact of the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese Military in World War Two. It contains details of the bombing and loss of life and in particular the details relating to Government House.

On 19 February 1942 mainland Australia came under attack for the first time when Japanese forces mounted two air raids on Darwin. The two attacks, which were planned and led by the commander responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbour ten weeks earlier, involved 54 land-based bombers and approximately 188 attack aircraft which were launched from four Japanese aircraft-carriers in the Timor Sea. The two raids killed at least 243 people and between 300 and 400 were wounded. Twenty military aircraft were destroyed, eight ships at anchor in the harbour were sunk, and most civil and military facilities in Darwin were destroyed.

 At Government House the Administrator of the Northern Territory, Charles Abbott, his wife Hilda, and members of his staff sheltered from the bombing under the house. Daisy Martin, an Aborigine, died when a concrete block fell on her and one of the Administrator`s servants also was killed. All the others survived.

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