Australia's Darkest Hour

Australia’s fortunes were at an alarmingly low ebb by late February 1942. Taken completely by surprise by events in SE Asia, most of Australia’s Army was in the Middle East and a full 25% of it, the 8th Division, had been lost with the fall of Singapore on the 15thFebruary. RAAF elements in Malaya had been shot from the sky and chased from the theatre of operations. The RAN, still reeling after the loss of HMAS Sydney late in 1941, had also been witness to the loss of the Royal Navy’s Prince of Wales and Repulse to Japanese air superiority, and it still had Fleet Units in harm’s way, including the HMAS Perth and Yarra; both soon to be lost.

Prime Minister John Curtin had been in office less than a year as calamity descended around him. Top of Curtin’s mind was the need to get the rest of the…