"THE BRISBANE LINE"
WAS IT FACT OR WAS IT A MYTH?

visits since 25 January 2001

The so called "Brisbane Line" became a public issue when Eddie Ward, the member for East Sydney, accused the previous Menzies government of having a plan to abandon northern Australia to the Japanese should they invade from the north. This was a view held widely by many civilians in north Queensland during World War 2.

Darryl McIntyre, author of the book "Townsville at War 1942" states in his book that the "Brisbane Line" did not exist. General Douglas MacArthur stated in his reminisces that the Australian General Staff planned to defend Australia on a line of defence that followed the Darling River from Brisbane to Adelaide.

After the Japanese bombed Darwin on 19 February 1942, Major-General George Vasey issued an operational instruction on 10 March 1942 explaining the role for the Australian Army's Northern Command. Thursday Island and nearby islands were to be defended to the "limit of human endurance". Townsville was to be defended by its local brigade group which was required to be active and aggressive. In the event of impending defeat there was to be a scorched earth procedure implemented and a withdrawal to Charters Tower to the west. Brisbane was to be defended against sea, land and air attacks.

In January 2001, Dallas Goodwin from Mount Isa told me about the remains of concrete tank traps that he had visited near Tenterfield in New South Wales. They were used to span a bottle neck in the Clarence River Valley east of Tenterfield in northern New South Wales, in an area known as Paddys Flat. The concrete pillars are still visible in and beside the river near the crossing. Dallas indicated that this was part of the so-called "Brisbane Line" defence plan. Dallas also described some well known tank traps just north of Tenterfield on the Bald Rock Road. They consist of log pillars and a concrete wall in the valley. The sign posts on the road claim that they formed part of the "Brisbane Line" defences.

Was it Fact or was it a Myth?

REFERENCE BOOKS

Gallaway, Jack, "The Odd Couple - Blamey and MacArthur at War", University of Queensland Press, 2000.

Long, Gavin, "MacArthur", Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1969

McIntyre, Darryl, "Townsville at War 1942 - Life in a Garrison City", Townsville City Council, May 1992.

Thomson, Judy, "Winning with Intelligence", Australian Military History Publications, 2000

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I'd like to thank Dallas Goodwin for his assistance with this home page.

Heaps of WW2 books available at Amazon.com

"Australia @ War"

This page first produced 25 January 2001

This page last updated 21 January 2004