The Second World War commenced on the 1^st September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany, with British Commonwealth countries, including Australia, joining in.

In 1941, war expanded to the Pacific region when Japanese forces attacked United States forces at Pearl Harbor on 7 December. Many ships and aircraft were destroyed with some 3,435 casualties. In response, America declared war on Japan on 8 December 1941, with Australia joining in.

From September 1939, for around 6 months, not much military action occurred, with the time being described as the phony war, although behind the scenes much planning and preparations were being made.

Men were being recruited and trained for the military forces, war materials were being manufactured and stockpiled for use, including here in Australia. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Dad and his brothers Trevor and Jeff went to Longford, Tasmania to enlist for Army service. However, all were rejected, probably because of their occupation as farmers, which was considered to be a vital and essential industry.

Elementary Flying Training Schools

The establishment of Flying Training Schools commenced with 12 around Australia being set up. In Tasmania, a school was established at Western Junction (now known as Launceston Airport) on 29 August 1940, with training commencing in September of that year. Over 1,800 pilot trainees passed through the base until closing, late 1944.

The training planes were Tiger Moths and regularly flew over the Bishopsbourne training area, performing various maneuvers, including looping the loop.

Near Cressy two of the planes collided and crashed. Three pilots were killed with a fourth parachuting to safety.

Many of the trained pilots saw combat service in Britain.

Airfields – Central Tasmania

With the fear of a Japanese invasion of Tasmania, in May 1942 a decision was made to establish three airfields in Tasmania’s Central Midlands with locations being at Valleyfield, Tunbridge and Quorn Hall.

Valleyfield was to be used as a long-range Fighter Squadron Base, Tunbridge as a Dive Bomber Squadron Base, and Quorn Hall as a Maintenance Base. Construction work was largely finished by January 1943.

Tunbridge Airfield

The Tunbridge airfield had three runways and a number of aircraft hideouts. The cost of construction was estimated at £200,000. The bases were little used.

German Mine Laying, Australian Waters

In 1940, with war mostly occurring around Europe, life in Australia was thought to be relatively safe.

However, a wake-up call came in November 1940 when the mine-laying ship, “Pinguin” and her support vessel “Passat”, began laying mines along the Australian coast, resulting in the sinking and damage of ships. Mines were laid at Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales and Hobart, Tasmania. Much attention was given to the shipping routes around South Australian and Bass Strait regions, including Melbourne.

German Mine

In South Australia, “Pinguin” and “Passat” laid mines in the Gulf of St. Vincent and Investigator Strait. Other mines were laid in the Apollo Bay area. Between 29 and 31 October 1940, Passat proceeded to lay 60 mines off the northeast coast of Tasmania, 10 mines off Wilsons Promontory, and 40 mines off Cape Otway, while travelling through Bass Strait in broad daylight.

Passat – Formerly MV Storstad

These mines caused the sinking of two ships, “SS Cambridge” a United Kingdom Reefer ship of 10,846 tons on 7 November 1940, and the MS City of Rayville, of the United States, a freighter of 5,883 tons, on 9 November 1940. Other merchant ships sunk by  Pinguin and Passat, totaling 28, amounting to 136,551 gross tons, a record by any combat ship during World War 2.

Mine sweeping was soon commenced off Wilsons Promontory on 9 November and eventually 43 mines from the Bass Strait fields were detonated or rendered safe after being washed ashore.

Pinguin (originally named” Kandelfels”) was built in 1936 in Germany and operated as a freighter but was acquired by the German military in 1939 with alterations made to convert it to an auxiliary cruiser.

She was 155 meters long, beam 18.7 m., draught 8.7 m, powered by 2 x 6-cylinder diesel engines and could travel at 17 knots (20 miles per hour). Her compliment was 401 people.

The vessel was armed with a variety of guns, 2 torpedo tubes, and carried two seaplanes.

German Auxiliary Cruiser Pinguin

The Pinguin and her mining activities came to an end on 8 May 1941 when sunk in the Indian Ocean by HMS CORNWALL. She exploded when the mines stored on board were hit and detonated: 332 members of the crew and about 200 of the prisoners were killed. Cornwall rescued 60 crew members and 22 prisoners who had been taken from the 28 merchant ships the raider had either sunk or captured.

The Passat is noted as an auxiliary ship operating with Pinguin in mine laying and harassing shipping. She had been built at Oslo, Norway in 1925 as a motor tanker and transport vessel and named “Storstad”. Her dimensions 143.3 x 19 x 10.8 meters and was fitted with 4 diesel engines, providing a speed of 10knots.

Storstad was captured by the Pinguin on 7 October 1940 in the Sunda Strait, converted to an auxiliary mine layer and renamed as the “Passat”.

On 2 September 1942 Passat was bombed and damaged in an allied air raid off St.  Nazaire with 80 people killed. The boat was scuttled on 11 August 1944 and in 1949 raised and broken up.

Japanese Reconnaissance Flight Over Hobart, Tasmania

On 1 March 1942, a Japanese aircraft was spotted over Hobart, which was a cause of much surprise and brought some fear.

The plane was a seaplane type and had been carried to the area by a submarine, travelling from Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne, where they had conducted reconnaissance flights, before sailing down the west coast of Tasmania and then swinging north up the east coast, stopping at Great Oyster Bay.

Japanese Floatplane

There the plane was taken from its watertight compartment, placed on deck and made ready for flight by attaching the wings and floats etc.

The flight, with two air crew, headed south for Hobart, rounding the Tasman Peninsular and approaching Hobart from a southerly direction. With a full moon they could easily spot all the fishing boats and coasters on the Derwent River, also 5 cargo ships at anchor but no warships.

On recovering the float plane and storing it back in its watertight hanger, the submarine left to sail to New Zealand, taking 4 days of sailing on the surface to reach there.

They made reconnaissance flights over Wellington on 8 March 1942, Auckland on 12 March 1942 and then travelling to Suva for their last flight on 18 March 1942.

Activities in Tasmania, War Years

During the war years, Tasmania went onto a “Total war” footing, resulting in government controls over resources, restricting civilian travel, and rationing of petrol, clothing, tea and other food supplies.

Some activities

• The barb wiring of beaches on the east coast of Tasmania. The wire used was of hardened quality so as to make landings difficult
• Trenches were dug at homes and community venues throughout Tasmania. At Bishopsbourne trenches were dug at the school and community hall, to provide shelter.
• Blackout curtains were installed in homes and business places, also car head lamps were part covered to cut down on lighting at night.
• Identity Cards were issued to all residents which were required to be carried when away from home and produced on request.
• Rationing was introduced for food, clothing, linen products and fuel.
• People were encouraged to be frugal and were given encouragement to renovate and recycle clothing items. It was presented as a way for a family to help with the war effort. A brochure declared “Let the darning needle be a weapon of war”. To save dress material, it was decided that dress length be shortened from below the knee to above the knee
• Employment became organized – some people were directed to certain jobs and people wanting to move to a new job, had to make application. Women were directed to factory work and farming due to labour shortages because of men being away serving in military forces.
• Citizen Military Forces were established.
• Censorship was put into place to ensure that nothing was published that could be of benefit to enemy forces.
• Evacuation plans were drawn up detailing names, transport provided, gathering points and where they would be located to.
• Training in case of attack was given, including the availably of trenches, earmuffs and gas masks, and basic medical training.

POW Camps

Around 24,000 prisoners of war were detained in Australia during World War 2 and as at 1945 were recorded – 

• 18,000 Italians 
• 1,500 Germans
• 4,000 Japanese

A number were sent to Tasmania and were divided into three groups, some under strict guard, others in group residence but employed outside, with a third group placed on farms as labourers.

The guidelines for Tasmanian prisoners of war workers stipulated that each farm could have a maximum of three workers per farm, with costing being £1 per week each plus keep. This made prisoners an attractive source of labour.

Farm prisoner labourers in Tasmania were

• Burnie 382
• Scottsdale 213
• Hobart 212
• Smithton 166
• Deloraine 179
• Conara   97
• Huonville   89

A group was placed at Bishopsbourne employed by the Green family who had two distantly separated farms at Bishopsbourne, Como and Mount Vernon, so possibly two lots of three. Those at Como are remembered as walking the two miles to the Bracknell Catholic Church (No longer there, but roughly located here before it was pulled down) of a Sunday to attend church.

By Ivan Badcock – 10 June 2025