Looted house, Darwin

Features a bomb-damaged house with graffiti on the partially demolished walls. This drawing illustrates the relatively unknown story of the events following the Japanese bombing of Darwin during the Second World War.
Despite being the largest population in northern Australia before the bombing, Darwin was remote, with little amenities or services; hot and humid, and considered a 'backwater' by many Australians and military personnel. Abandoned civilian homes, such as the one featured in this drawing, provided soldiers with opportunities to acquire domestic comforts, albeit illegally, that had been abandoned by evacuees. And, also leave behind a legacy of their time in the north by way of sketches and slogans on the partially demolished walls.

This is one of three known versions Thake made of this subject, and unlikely to be the original. The other two are held in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and National Gallery of Australia. The detailed inscriptions of the drawing held by the NGA suggest this is the original drawing made on location, in Darwin, and the subsequent drawings could possibly have been made on the artist's return to Melbourne.