60th Anniversary of the End of World War TwoPrint Page

Three life size aluminium cut-out fighter aeroplanes and new visitor facilities were unveiled at the Strauss Airstrip on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two and serve as a permanent reminder of Darwin’s frontline role during World War Two.

The Northern Territory Government declared the Strauss Airstrip a Heritage place in 2003 in a bid to save it from plans to duplicate the Stuart Hwy along that stretch of road.

The Strauss airstrip played a pivotal role during the bombing of Darwin in February 1942. The site was selected as part of a program to construct a number of roadside strips south of Darwin in response to the Japanese threat. The facilities included a 1.5 kilometre long, 30 metre wide runway, as well as numerous huts, tents, and aircraft revetments (parking bays). Some remnants of these can still be seen today. The airstrip was used throughout the war and was decommissioned at the end of 1945.

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