Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

Virtual discovery #29 - Operation Quokka

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Overview

Part of a series of “Virtual Discovery” presentations featuring the military heritage of Rottnest island produced in parallel with Virtual Visit posts relating to the Australian Army Museum of Western Australia. This “Virtual Discovery” focuses on "Operation Quokka", the removal of coast defence ammunition from Rottnest in 1960 by 44 Railway Squadron (SR) RAE

Historical information

Operation Quokka was the codename for a task carried out by 44 Railway Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers on Rottnest Island over the Labour Day long weekend, 5-7 March 1960.The task involved restoring the Military Railroad to operational use and then moving over 100 tons of 9.2 inch projectiles from the Oliver Hill Magazines to the Army Jetty. The projectiles were then transferred from the rail wagons to a barge for dumping in the Rottnest Channel.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-54-800

Contextual Information

The Rottnest Island was closed to the public for extended periods during the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in March 2020. The success of “Virtual Visi” series at the Australian Army Museum of Western Australia prompted the creation of a parallel series of “Virtual Discoveries” focussing on the military and heritage aspects of Rottnest island. The Australian Army Museum of western Australia has video footage of the operation and the camp flag of 44 Railway Squadron (SR) in its collection.

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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