Peter Grahame Browne (15 July 1924 – 11 September 2000) was an Australian Federal politician. Born in Sydney,he enlisted in 1940 and served with the 2nd AIF as a Gunner in the 14th Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery in Darwin during the Bombing of Darwin from February 1942. In 1943 he transferred to the RAAF to undertake pilot training through the Empire Air Training Scheme,initially at 2 Initial Training School (2 I.T.S.) Bradfield Park,Sydney. He was medically discharged from the RAAF after suffering from mastoiditis.
Not yet satisfied with his contribution to the war,Browne signed-up with the US Army Small Ships Section in June 1944 where he served on ships directly supporting the Philippines Campaign,particularly the Battle of Leyte Gulf and Invasion of Lingayen Gulf. In addition to his WWII Australian Service and Campaign medals,he was awarded US Service Medals,including the Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with Campaign Stars for the Battle of Leyte and the Battle of Luzon and the Philippines Liberation Medal and Philippines Presidential Unit Citation.
After the war Browne became a drover and horse breaker,as well as an organiser for the Liberal Party. In 1958,he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Liberal member for Kalgoorlie,in Western Australia. He held the seat until his defeat in 1961. He then served as the Principal Private Secretary to the Treasurer,Harold Holt,in the Menzies government.
Browne died in Fremantle in 2000 [1] and was remembered in the House of Representatives. His wife,Margaret,died in 2023 at the age of 91. He is survived by his three children,Rosemary,Stephen and Peter.
Jason Peter Wood is an Australian politician and former police officer. He is a member of the Liberal Party and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2013,representing the seat of La Trobe. He previously held the seat from 2004 to 2010. He was an assistant minister in the Morrison government from 2019 to 2022.
USS Isherwood (DD-520),a Fletcher-class destroyer,was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Isherwood (1822–1915).
Clive Robertson Caldwell,was the leading Australian air ace of World War II. He is officially credited with shooting down 28.5 enemy aircraft in over 300 operational sorties,including an ace in a day. In addition to his official score,he has been ascribed six probables and 15 damaged. Caldwell flew Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks and Kittyhawks in the North African Campaign and Supermarine Spitfires in the South West Pacific Theatre. He was the highest-scoring P-40 pilot from any air force and the highest-scoring Allied pilot in North Africa. Caldwell also commanded a Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron and two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wings. His military service ended in controversy,when he resigned in protest at the misuse of Australian First Tactical Air Force's fighter units and was later court martialed and convicted for trading liquor.
HMAS Westralia (F95/C61) was an auxiliary cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by Scottish shipbuilder Harland and Wolff and completed in 1929,Westralia was operated by the Huddart Parker company until 1939,when she was requisitioned for service with the RAN as an Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC). Fitted with guns and commissioned in early 1940,Westralia was initially used to escort convoys in the Pacific and Indian oceans. In November 1940,the largest mutiny in RAN history occurred aboard the ship,with 104 men charged.
Australia was a member of the international coalition which contributed military forces to the 1991 Gulf War,also known as Operation Desert Storm. More than 1,800 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were deployed to the Persian Gulf from August 1990 to September 1991,while contingents from the Royal Australian Navy circulated through the region in support of the sanctions against Iraq until November 2001. In August 1990,two frigates HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Darwin and the replenishment ship HMAS Success left for the Persian Gulf. HMAS Success had no air defences,so the Army 16th Air Defence Regiment was embarked. On 3 December 1990,HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Sydney (IV) relieved HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Darwin. On 26 January 1991,HMAS Westralia replaced HMAS Success. A Navy clearance diving team was also deployed for explosive ordnance disposal and demolition tasks. Australian ships were in danger of sea mines and possible air attacks. In a number of recorded incidents,HMAS Brisbane encountered free floating mines,on one occasion narrowly avoiding a collision. Both HMA Ships Brisbane and Sydney encountered significant air threat warnings from Iran and Iraq throughout the initial period of the commencement of the Desert Storm Campaign. The detection of land based Silkworm anti-ship missiles from Iran throughout the campaign also added to the challenges for both crews as well as the multi-national Naval Forces.
Australia entered World War II on 3 September 1939,following the government's acceptance of the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Nazi Germany. Australia later entered into a state of war with other members of the Axis powers,including the Kingdom of Italy on 11 June 1940,and the Empire of Japan on 9 December 1941. By the end of the war almost one million Australians had served in the armed forces,whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre,North African campaign,and the South West Pacific theatre. In addition,Australia came under direct attack for the first time in its post-colonial history. Its casualties from enemy action during the war were 27,073 killed and 23,477 wounded. Many more suffered from tropical disease,hunger,and harsh conditions in captivity;of the 21,467 Australian prisoners taken by the Japanese,only 14,000 survived.
USS Pollux (AKS-4) was a Castor-class general stores issue ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering and disbursing goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
Bruce William Graham,OBE was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives for over 20 years,representing the New South Wales seats of St George and North Sydney (1966–1980).
Robert George Halverson,was an Australian politician,air force officer and diplomat. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1998,representing the Liberal Party. He was Speaker of the House from 1996 to 1998,and subsequently served as Ambassador to Ireland from 1998 to 2003.
David John Hamer was an Australian politician and Royal Australian Navy officer.
The 49th Fighter Group was a fighter aircraft unit of the Fifth Air Force that was located in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II.
Leonard William Hamilton was an Australian politician. Born in Jarrahdale,Western Australia,he was educated at Perth Boys School before becoming a wheat and sugar farmer. He served in the military from 1917 to 1920 and from 1940 to 1945. In 1946,he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Country Party member for Swan,defeating Labor MP Don Mountjoy. In 1949,he transferred to the new seat of Canning,where he remained until his retirement in 1961. Hamilton later served as President of the Western Australian branch of the Country Party. He died in 1987.
Earl Douglas Cash was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1958 to 1961,representing the Western Australian seat of Stirling. He was defeated after a single term but later served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1968 to 1971,representing the seat of Mirrabooka.
Peter Anthony Richardson is an Australian doctor and former politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1977,representing the Division of Tangney. He was elected as a member of the Liberal Party,but shortly before the 1977 federal election defected to the libertarian Progress Party and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate.
Charles William Jackson Falkinder,was an Australian air force officer and politician.
Air Vice Marshal Adrian Lindley Trevor Cole,CBE,DSO,MC,DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Joining the army at the outbreak of World War I,he transferred to the Australian Flying Corps in 1916 and flew with No. 1 Squadron in the Middle East and No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front. He became an ace,credited with victories over ten enemy aircraft,and earned the Military Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1921,he was a founding member of the RAAF.
Foreign relations between Australia and Philippines,cover a broad range of areas of cooperation including political,economic,development,defence,security and cultural relations between Australia and the Philippines. Australia has an embassy in Manila. The Philippines has an embassy in Canberra,consulate generals in Sydney,Melbourne,and Darwin,consulates in Brisbane,Hobart,and Perth,and an honorary consulate in Adelaide.
Air Vice Marshal Alan Moorehouse Charlesworth,CBE,AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Tasmania,he graduated from the Royal Military College,Duntroon,and served with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in Queensland before transferring to the Air Force in 1925. Most of his pre-war flying career was spent with No. 1 Squadron at RAAF Station Laverton,Victoria. In 1932 he undertook a series of survey flights around Australia,earning the Air Force Cross. Charlesworth's early wartime commands included No. 2 Squadron at Laverton,and RAAF Station Pearce in Western Australia. Appointed Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Eastern Area in December 1943,he was promoted temporary air commodore the following year and took over as AOC North-Western Area in Darwin,Northern Territory.
Timothy Francis Owen is a former Australian politician and a former deputy commander of the Australian Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electoral district of Newcastle for the Liberal Party from the 2011 New South Wales state election until 6 August 2014,when he moved to the parliamentary crossbench and sat as an independent,following evidence given to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that he may have breached electoral funding laws.
North-Western Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Its wartime sphere of operations included the Northern Territory,adjacent portions of Queensland and Western Australia,and the Dutch East Indies. The command was formed in January 1942,following the outbreak of the Pacific War,from the western part of Northern Area Command,which had covered all of northern Australia and Papua. Headquartered at Darwin,North-Western Area Command was initially responsible for air defence,aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries.