The PR Blog

I have had a pretty colourful life one way or another. And it got me thinking. How would the Gazans and others feel if they lived up in the pointy end of Australia? Would they come? So here is my " Welcome to Country " ceremony for all those from other countries  who are thinking of making Australia home. 

But think twice before you head north for a true blue Aussie ceremony. You might bite off more than you bargained for. Or, someone or something might. 

Life out of Australian cities is not for people who cannot deal with the odd oversized lizard or two. It's almost more like " Welcome to the Jungle. " 

“Some of us may forget that, of all the Allies, it was the Australians who first broke the spell of invincibility of the Japanese Army.”
- Quote from Field Marshall Sir William Slim, Commander of WW2 Commonwealth forces in Burma (and later Governor General of Australia).

And that first fracture in the Japanese Land Forces strength came at Milne Bay in September 1942. Alongside Guadalcanal weeks later, Milne Bay marked the first land defeats of the Japanese, shifting the Pacific war’s momentum. 

The Emu War is one of Australia's most curious and bizarre historical events. It took place in late 1932, when a large number of emus, flightless birds native to Australia, caused significant damage to crops in Western Australia.

In response, the Australian government sent a small military force, led by Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery, armed with two Lewis guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition, to the region in November 1932. The plan was to cull the emus and reduce their numbers to protect the crops.

Curious? I am not surprised. Hell, if if the Australian Army couldn't despatch a few pesky birds then something was very wrong indeed.  So let me enlighten you and tell you all about the time that the Australian Army went to war against its coat of arms.... and lost. 

Of all the magnificent units and regiments of the Australian Army I doubt if any have a better claim to have been the one that saved Australia than the 39^th Infantry Battalion, the first to advance down the Kokoda Track to confront the Japanese.

There are a number of units who could claim this title. The 25^th Brigade in the defence of Milne Bay and the Coral Sea Battle. The former was supported by the RAAF. The Coral Sea Battle was a largely American enterprise. The 39^th held the Japs at bay alone and unsupported until the 7^th Division arrived fresh from the Middle East. For that they get my vote without detracting in any way the efforts and performance of all of our other units, and the Americans, who took on the Japs.