Government House Queensland
Battle for Australia Commemoration Service 2025
Representing the Premier of Queensland and Minister for Veterans, Mr Trevor Watts MP; Representing the Minister for Communications and Minister for Sport, Ms Catherine Palmer; Representing the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Councillor Danita Parry; Member for Stafford, Mr James Sullivan MP; Senior representatives of the Australian and New Zealand defence forces; Consul-General of Papua New Guinea, Mr Reatau Maraki Rau; President, Battle for Australia Commemoration Committee Queensland, Colonel Mark Plath (Retd); Representatives of the Returned and Services League of Australia in Queensland, of which I am Patron, and other associations representing current and former servicemen and women; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen; students.
I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands on which we are gathered this morning, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to all Indigenous people here today.
The first Wednesday in September is the occasion, each year, when we honour the service of the men and women who defended Australia from invasion in World War II, and remember the sacrifice of those who lost their lives in that conflict, including many civilians.
It was our wartime Prime Minister, John Curtin, who was the first to use the term 'Battle for Australia', following the fall of Singapore in February 1942. He compared the event to how Dunkirk marked the start of the Battle of Britain, warning that Australia now faced a critical struggle requiring unprecedented effort, with the nation's future depending on how it responded.
As history now tells us, it was only a few days later that Japanese aircraft bombed Darwin––the first attack on the Australian mainland. In response, Australia launched multiple actions by air, land and sea until the pivotal Battle of Milne Bay, seven months later, when the Japanese were defeated for the first time on land, and the tide began to turn.
It was the Royal Australian Air Force Kittyhawk squadrons who played a vital role in repelling the Japanese landing at Milne Bay and it is particularly fitting to see the name of that legendary fighter plane honoured in the name of this Chermside street.
The adjacent parklands, 7th Brigade Park, have an even longer association with Battle for Australia. They served as the Chermside Army Camp during World War II and the first units to train here were from Queensland’s 7th Brigade––part of the force that defeated the Japanese at Milne Bay in 1942.
Even this building has a long association with our defence forces––it began life in 1915 as the Sandgate Army Drill Hall and today houses the Milne Bay Memorial Library and Research Centre. The memorial plinth was originally located on the corner of George and Alice Streets in Brisbane’s CBD but in 2017, the Queen’s Wharf Project necessitated its relocation. I cannot think of a more fitting place than here in Chermside where even the name of the suburb itself has a proud military connection––Lieutenant General Sir Herbert Chermside, Queensland’s 9th Governor.
The plinth, as well as the names of this suburb, this street, the nearby park, this building, and the library all serve to remind Australians of the courage and sacrifice of those who were part of the defence of Australia, 83 years ago, and I congratulate and thank the Battle for Australia Commemoration Committee for their ongoing commitment to ensuring that, as a community, we never forget.