THE SQUIZ
Tomorrow morning, Darwin locals will gather at the Cenotaph to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Japan’s bombing of the northern capital in WWII. It was the first attack on Australian soil, and it remains the largest. This week, Darwin Mayor Kon Vatskalis said it is “an event of national significance” and “a part of our history all Australians should be aware of.”

I KNEW THAT DARWIN WAS BOMBED IN WWII…
Us too, but not much of the details, so let’s get to it… Darwin was (and is) strategically important, but historians say it was poorly defended given Japan was out to prevent Australian and US forces from using it as a base to fend off their advance in the region. And so, just before 10am on Thursday, 19 February 1942, the first of 2 waves of Japanese aircraft dropped their bombs on Darwin. In total, 240 bombers targetted ships in the harbour and the local airstrip leaving widespread damage and more than 240 civilians and Australian and US service personnel dead. More tough days followed – it was the first of 64 Japanese raids on Darwin between then and November 1943. There are many myths about the attacks… Accounts say it was mayhem after that first attack, and at least half of the civilians living there fled. The jury’s out on that. However, historians are sure that claims that men rode bikes to Alice Springs to get away aren’t true…

GOT IT. SO WHAT’S HAPPENING?
Tomorrow’s commemoration service will be live-streamed for the first time, so you can log in and check it out if you aren’t in Darwin. One guy who will be there with bells on is 101yo Brian Winspear, the last surviving veteran who was there. In the lead up to the event, he recalled what it was like on the day. “I looked up, and the sun glinted on the bombs as they were falling, and it was just like confetti.” Terrifying…