Sunshine Coast Hinterland Times

After the Japanese bombed Darwin on February 19, 1942 there  was the real fear of invasion of Australia by the Japanese.  The so-called “Brisbane Line” became a public talking point and it was rumoured that the Australian General Staff planned to defend Australia on a line of defence that followed the Darling river from Brisbane to Adelaide. Controversially, everything and everyone north of the river was to be surrendered to the Japanese.
Local brigade groups throughout Queensland went on standby and some in the front line like Townsville were told to be active, aggressive and if necessary adopt a scorched earth policy.
Palmwoods resident Jeff James recalls his father, Harry James and his cousin John James training in and around Nambour, Noosa and the Blackall Ranges. They were part of the famous 7th Division, recalled from the Middle East to defend the Queensland coast against the impending Japanese invaders. The Division was based at Landsborough.
The James boys were part of a light armoured unit equipped with trucks, Bren Gun carriers and light tanks that had been brought back from Palestine and Cyprus. The plan had been to sacrifice this unit to the German and Italian armies who had just taken Crete. But the persistence of Prime Minister Curtin brought these trained soldiers back to Queensland for retraining in jungle warfare.
So, in 1942 our hinterland region was host to 300 men of the 2nd 7th Division Cavalry in armoured vehicles roaring up and down hills as they familiarised themselves with an area they thought they would shortly have to defend.
Out of their vehicles, the James boys and their mates took to a number of rowing boats that had come from Gallipoli! They rowed up and down the rivers placing explosive charges under many of the local bridges, ready to blow them up!
The soldiers on the Range often stopped their Bren Gun Carriers to have a cup of billy tea with the men at Flaxton Mill. It was not surprising given that many of the serving soldiers, including Harry James,  had come from the timber industry in NSW and Victoria, and so the Flaxton Mill smoko stop would have been home from home.
The 7th Division later moved to the Atherton Tableland before sailing to Port Moresby with their vehicles and armoured units. By then they were pretty well worn out and not much use in the PNG jungles.
Heroically,  the 7th Division volunteered to become infantry and were flown to Poppendetta and into bitter fighting. Only 60 remained out of 370 men after three months. On paper, this was the end of the 2/7 Division Cavalry with dozens flown back to hospitals in Queensland with tropical diseases.