Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

Interwar, Western Australia, Perth, Swan barracks, 5 Military District,1932

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1932

Overview

Formal group portrait of Head Quarters staff 5 Military District at Swan Barracks

Historical information

The 5th Military District was an administrative district of the Australian Army formed shortly after the Federation of Australia, Prior to the Federation of Australia, each colony maintained its own military and naval forces. After Federation, the forces came under control of the Commonwealth. To assist with administration of the new Australian army, each state was allocated a military district to be known by its state name. The 5th Military District covered Western Australia with its headquarters at Swan Barracks in Perth.
Following World War I, the area's designation was changed to the 5th District Base. In October 1939, it was re-designated as Western Command when the Army moved towards a geographic command structure. In April 1942, the Army was reorganised and Western Command became III Corps. Western Command was re-formed in June 1944 when the need for a corps-level headquarters passed.
After the end of the World War 2, the regional command structure was reinstated. In the early 1970s the army moved from geographical commands to a system of functional commands, which absorbed many responsibilities of the military districts, such as training and logistics. However, smaller military district headquarters remained to provide general support within their areas and to act as points of contact between the army and state governments. Military districts were finally disbanded in 1997 to reduce administrative costs.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-P2001.43.1c

Item type

Photographs

Themes

War and Conflict

Year

1932

Geotag

-31.948954484307, 115.86215798497

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