Memorial Walk CBD Secondary teacher resource.pdf

10 ADELAIDE GENERAL POST OFFICE
Background Information
Time to allow: 20 minutes.
The Bombing of Darwin
On the 19 February 1942 two attacks by enemy aircraft were made on Darwin. These raids
occurred at 9.58am on Darwin Harbour/Town and at 11.58am on Darwin Aerodrome. Official
figures record that 243 people were killed and 350 people were wounded in the raids.
This was the first attack ever by a foreign country on Australian soil and whilst many details
were kept secret at the time we now know that more bombs were dropped on Darwin on that
day than the attack on Pearl Harbour on the 7 December 1941.
Damage caused in the first raids on Darwin was extensive. The Post and Telegraph offices,
Police Station, Barracks, Cable Office, and Government offices were destroyed and the
civilian hospital damaged in the first raid. The RAAF hospital, recreation hall, equipment
store, many houses and living quarters were destroyed in the second raid.
About the Post Office
Prior to the bombing raid of 19 February 1942 most civilians had been evacuated and this
option was offered to the Post Office staff but they chose to stay. They were aware of the Fall
of Singapore and the seemingly unstoppable enemy advance toward Australia. Peter Bald the
Postmaster and his family lived near the Post Office and had built an air raid shelter in their
back garden for use by the family and the Post Office staff. Soon after the first raid on Darwin
began the female telephonists and several male members of the staff sought shelter there. A
bomb scored a direct hit on the shelter killing the postmaster and his family, together with
several members of his male staff and the whole of the female staff. In all, ten postal and
communications workers were killed. The memorial in the Adelaide Post Office (GPO)
commemorates their heroic choice to stay at their posts in the face of imminent danger. They
died because they decided to put their duty before their personal safety.
Student questions
(1) By looking at the names on the marble plaques at the GPO how many females
were killed when the enemy bombed the Darwin Post Office on 19 February 1942?
6 females
(2) Postal staff were given the option of leaving Darwin as the threat of an enemy
attack grew more likely. Most women and children had already been evacuated
from the city. What do you think you would have done if you were a postal worker
in Darwin in 1942 and why?
Students own response. By the Post Office staying open they were able to alert
authorities of the bombing raid as it occurred via use of morse code. Otherwise the
details of the attack may have taken some time to be communicated to Government
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