CAMP PELL, MELBOURNE
DURING WW2

visits since 7 August 2000

During World War 2 there was a large military camp in Melbourne called Camp Pell. It was named in honour of Major Floyd Pell of the 33rd Pursuit Squadron USAAC.

Camp Pell was located in Royal Park in the suburb of Parkville in Melbourne. The original gate guard shelters are still there, but the site is now covered with netball/basketball facilities and the new hockey stadium which will be used for the 2006 Commonwealth games.

Eddie Leonski, the infamous "Brownout Strangler" was living at Camp Pell at the time of his terrible crimes.

Task Force 6814, of the US Army arrived in in Melbourne in a convoy of ships on 27 February 1942. The troops were unloaded and dispersed to five major areas:-

• Ballarat

• Bendigo

• Camp Darley

• Royal Park (Camp Pell)

• Melbourne, possibly in Camp Murphy in the Melbourne Cricket Grounds

One Operating Platoon (45 men) of the 121st Signal Radio Intelligence Company arrived in Melbourne on 10 April 1942. They set up camp at Camp Pell where they trained in intercept and direction finding operations until 6 June 1942. On 19 May 1942, the Platoon was redesignated and became the First Operating Platoon, 126th Signal Radio Intelligence Company. The Platoon moved to Mount Macedon in Victoria on 6 June 1942. 

The 17th Station Hospital, US Army, disembarked at Melbourne on 4 June 1942. They erected their tents at Camp Pell. It was wet and cold and mess facilities were poorly organised.

After the second world war, the Victorian Housing Commission used the "army huts as transit camps". They were frequently being used to accommodate families who had been evicted by the Commission's slum reclamation program. Camp Pell gained a degree of notoriety, with some residents being classed as incorrigible, but communal facilities were scarcely uplifting.

Building 33A used for housing after WW2
(Photo via Margaret McKay)

Subject:     Camp Pell
Date:              Wed, 11 Oct 2000 01:36:25 -0700
From:            "Russell Holroyd" <HHH3798@bigpond.com>

Hi,

Really good site you have. On the subject of Camp Pell, it apparently was in the Royal Park area. Also, I am told, German POWs were housed there. That this does not get mentioned in official histories is no surprise - the Italians were interned in the Rowville area on the other side of Melbourne and hardly anyone remembers their camp now! I don't know what part of the country you live in, but Melbourne was never out of WW2 according to some of the stories I have heard.

Good Luck,

Russell Holroyd

Subject:    Camp Pell
Date:             Fri, 24 Nov 2000 21:01:10 +1100
From:           George Dragicevic <georged@melbpc.org.au>

Hello Peter

Received your CD today...thanks for putting it together. It contains a wealth of information. Regarding Camp Pell, it is indeed in Royal Park in Parkville. I pass it every day on the way to work. The original gate guard shelters are still there, but the site is now covered with netball/basketball facilities and the new hockey stadium which I believe will be used for the 2006 Commonwealth games. I work with someone who actually lived at Camp Pell as a child in the 40s and 50s. He tells stories of the poor people who lived in the camp and the terrible conditions.

regards,

George Dragicevic
Melbourne PC User Group

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

Heaps of WW2 books available at Amazon.com

"Australia @ War"

This page first produced 7 August 2000

This page last updated 28 December 2004