World War 2, Australia, Western Australia, Northam Camp, 1940

1940
Overview

Formal outdoor group portrait of Initial Training School (Instructors) Sergeants Mess, Northam

Historical information

The Australian Army selected an area of land in 1935 about 5 kilometers south west of Northam in Western Australia for the Northam Army Camp, which was initially used as a training camp for Citizen Military Forces units. It was located south of the Great Eastern Highway and close to the Goldfields Water Supply pipeline.The 1935/36 annual CMF camp was held at the new site as a tented camp.
Plans were developed for the new camp to be able to house a complete Infantry Brigade. A total of 175 huts were erected by October 1939. Some of the larger buildings were relocated from the previous WWI camp at Blackboy Hill. The camp expansion in 1939 was used to accommodate 2/11 Infantry Battalion, 2/16 Infantry Battalion, 2/28 Infantry Battalion and 2/4 Machine Gun Battalion
After the above AIF units were raised at Northam, the camp became the main training camp for Western Australia and under HQ WA Line of Communication Area Training Depots Almost every soldier recruited in Western Australia (i.e. with a W or WX Serial Number) trained at Northam.
The 38th Australian Camp Hospital was located in the middle of the Northam Military Camp. After 38th Camp Hospital was disbanded in January 1944, 1st Armoured Division and took over the area previously used by the 38th Camp Hospital.
Parts of the Northam Army Camp were used for 4 compound areas for the Northam POW Camp. There were some 3,600 Italian POW's at the Northam POW camp from January to October 1946 prior to their repatriation to Italy.
Between 1949 and September 1951, the camp was used as an accommodation centre by the Department of Immigration. The Camp was used from 1950 to 1953 for training Australian Army personnel involved in the Korean War. The Camp was abandoned after the Korean War and some buildings were eventually removed. In 2004 there were only about 52 of the original 400 buildings remaining on site.
In 2017, part of the former camp site was used for the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre.
https://www.ozatwar.com/locations/northamcamp.htm
https://northamarmycamp.org.au/about-nacha/
http://inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au/Public/Inventory/Details/c7ec1d78-63ba-4b3b-8d54-c736d967d8a2

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-32-P1981.84.1a
Item type
Year
Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

Organisation Details
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