Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

World War 2, Middle East, 2/9 Australian General Hospital, 1941

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1941

Overview

Christmas Day scene in hospital ward

Historical information

The 2/9th Australian General Hospital, a 600-bed facility, was established on December 3, 1940, at the Wayville Showground in South Australia. After training, the staff departed for the Middle East, leaving Sydney on February 5, 1941, and Fremantle on February 12, 1941. They reached Bombay on February 22, 1941, before proceeding to Port Tewfik, where some staff helped the 2/2nd AGH with casualties from Greece and Crete. The unit then set up a hospital at Abd El Kader in the Amiriya district near Alexandria. By April 1941, they were handling 600 evacuees from Greece and later moved to Nazareth during July and August 1941, dealing with troops suffering from diseases and cold weather-related chest complaints.

The unit began its return to Australia on January 29, 1942, intending to go to Java. However, after Singapore fell, they landed in Port Adelaide on March 16, 1942. In August 1942, they established a general hospital in Papua New Guinea, known as the '17 Mile,' where they cared for up to 2,000 patients despite having only 1,200 beds. In March 1944, the hospital returned to Australia for a brief rest before moving to Morotai in March 1945 to support the Borneo campaign. They provided surgical teams for landings and helped rehabilitate POWs. The final staff returned to Australia on March 2, 1946.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-P1996.223.2f

Item type

Photographs

Themes

Medicine & Health
War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 2

Year

1941

Links to additional resources

History Summary

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia