Kapooka Camp

Depicts an Australian landscape with soldiers at a make-shift encampment of white tents, surrounded by gum trees. A small dog appears in the foreground of the painting. At Kapooka army camp, recruits received complete and realistic war training in 14 weeks. First they learnt squad and rifle drill, marching and physical training, then bayonet practice and complete small arms training. Then demolition work, mine laying and detection followed by bridge building. As a final test, the troops were sent over a very severe "assault course".

Sali Herman was born in Switzerland and arrived in Melbourne in 1937, escaping the Fascist dictatorships in Europe. He enlisted in the Australian Army in 1941 as a 'friendly alien', serving first in the camouflague section and then as a sergeant with the 3rd Royal Australian Engineers Training Battalion at Kapooka near Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales. He was later appointed official war artist in April 1945, working in New Guinea, New Britain and Bougainville for a period of five months. This painting was originally 'offered to the Australian War Memorial as a gift by Mr. Herman when he was appointed to be an official war artist' but was not initially accepted. This work was owned by the Commonwealth Government in London, then came back to Australia during the 1960s, became the property of the Prime Minister's Department and from there entered the National Gallery of Australia's collections during the 1980s.