| Place | Oceania: Australia, Northern Territory, Darwin |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | RELAWM30126 |
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Flag |
| Physical description | Wool |
| Location | Main Bld: World War 2 Gallery: Gallery 2: Darwin |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Date made | c 1940s |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
Bomb-damaged Australian flag from the Administrator's Residence, Darwin, 1942
Description
Damaged Australian blue ensign.
History / Summary
The Administrator of the Northern Territory, Charles Abbott, saved this flag which was flying at Government House on the day Japanese aircraft first bombed Darwin on 19 February 1942.
Hearing the air raid siren, Abbott, his family and staff sought shelter in a room beneath the building, which took a direct hit during the raid.
He realised the flag would be the first to have been damaged on Australian soil by enemy action, and arranged for it to be presented to the newly opened Australian War Memorial in Canberra soon afterwards. In his memoir, 'Australia's Frontier Province', Abbott recalled that the flag was flown at the Memorial when the Duke of Gloucester attended the VE Day ceremony in 1945.
The fabric of the flag was torn by strafing during the raid and one of the stars partially shot out.