CAMP MUCKLEY
ACACIA RIDGE, BRISBANE, QLD
DURING WW2

visits since 7 August 2000

During World War 2 there was a large military camp at Acacia Ridge called Camp Muckley. It was located in the bush very near to Archerfield airfield across the road from the quarry in Mortimer Road.

Camp Muckley was named after Second Lieutenant Dwight S. Muckley, Jr., O-398662, who was killed in a bomber crash in the Archerfield area on 5 June 1942.

The approximate outline of Camp Muckley is shown on the above
photograph. There was a large radio mast located immediately to the
west of Camp Muckley. It can be seen in the square "mown" area.

Plan of Camp Muckley

The men of the 39th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 317th Troop Carrier Group of the 5th Air Force lived at Camp Muckley, about one mile away from Archerfield airfield. The enlisted men lived in open barracks while the officers had partitioned quarters.

Photo: Allan Hodge via Noel Wallis

One of the buildings at Camp Muckley after the war had finished
with one of Allan Hodge's friends, Graham McKell in the foreground.

Photo: Allan Hodge via Noel Wallis

Full version of the above photograph.

The WW2 building that is located at the corner of Beaudesert Road and Mortimer Road, Acacia Ridge, which is part of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Primary School was not from Camp Muckley. It was made by joining together 3 buildings from Camp Archerfield which was located at the corner of Mortimer and Beatty Roads during WW2.

During the war Peter Freney went to school at Coopers Plains State School (later Acacia Ridge State School) which was situated near the Camp Muckley. He cannot recall entering the camp during the war although he would walk past the two main entrance gates on Mortimer Road on his way to and from school each day. Peter can remember being taken by his parents to see "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in the camp's outdoor picture theatre which was in an open field between Camp Muckley and Beatty Road. The picture theatre area can be seen as a white patch about half way down the western boundary of Camp Muckley.

After the war the camp became the home of many families needing accommodation. Many of them probably squatted in the buildings that were left in the bush. The children of those families greatly increased the population of the school. Many of Peter Freney's school friends lived there and he would visit them regularly. From 1945 onwards Peter used to take a shortcut to school through the camp.

There is a building in Sussex Road, Acacia Ridge owned by the Salvation Army, which is believed to be one of the buildings from the original Camp Muckley.

Photo: Noel Wallis             Aug 2004

Ex Camp Muckley building which is now the
Salvation Army building in Sussex Road, Acacia Ridge.

The 49th Service Squadron departed Camp Murphy in Victoria on 30 October 1942 and arrived at Camp Muckley on 3 November 1942. They left Camp Muckley on 30 November headed for Armstrong Paddock in Townsville.

Can anyone help me with some more information on Camp Muckley?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Peter Freney, Noel Wallis and Allan Hodge for their assistance with this home page.

Heaps of WW2 books available at Amazon.com

"Australia @ War"

This page first produced 7 August 2000

This page last updated 09 April 2007