Interview with Robert Squires (When the war came to Australia)

Robert Squires worked for Pool Petroleum during the war. He was based in Townsville where they were fuelling hundreds of vehicles and ships from 1943-1945. He comments on the National Day of Prayer, called for when Singapore fell. He mentions evacuations to the south of the Queensland population. Comments on the Americans in Townsville and the Australian personnel - over 90,000 uniformed personnel passed through Townsville in 1943. Discusses the water supplies in Brisbane. He comments on the effect of the Americans on the local population - hotels and stores were taken over as military headquarters and offices. He comments on sandbagging in Brisbane and Townsville and the lack of it in Sydney. Mr Squires mentions the airfields and strips in Far North Queensland: 44 in 1942-43. He comments that Japanese internees received little sympathy from the locals. His impression of the war years was that it was interesting and exciting. He concludes that Townsville was the forward supply base for the whole Pacific area, and the Atherton Tablelands was used as training grounds.