Interview with Peter Huskins (When the war came to Australia)

Mr Peter Huskins was a bank clerk with the Bank of NSW when he signed up at the age of 19. He joined the North Australia Observer Unit known as the Nackeroos: a unit of men spread throughout the Northern Territory, to monitor the Japanese if they invaded the north of Australia. The unit was top secret. It was hard living in the bush at that time: no fresh water, mosquitos, crocodiles, sandflies, snakes etc. Isolation affected men badly, especially the family men. The units relied heavily on Aboriginal trackers, who helped with tracking, survival, food and medicinal treatments. Mail was irregular, correspondence difficult. Japan had bombed Darwin and Broome, therefore the troops expected action. Peter Huskins describes the aftermath of the Darwin bombing. He thinks it would have been easy for Japan to invade as most of the civilians had fled. Had the Japanese invaded they would have cut the north-south road. The Brisbane Line is discussed; the Japanese could have invaded anywhere around the country: the defence forces were sparse in comparison. The return to civilian life is discussed and also the 'Battle of Brisbane': a major brawl between the American and the Australian servicemen.