Air Raid Shelter

Fear of a military threat from the Japanese in the form of air attack or invasion increased dramatically after the bombing of Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941. Although Australians had been at war since 3 September 1939 and regarded Japan with suspicion, it was not until the entry of Japan into the war that Australians felt their homes and personal safety were seriously under threat, particularly so after the fall of Singapore and the bombing of Darwin in February 1942.

 

In Queensland, civil authorities, voluntary organisations and the general population prepared for the worst with evacuations, air raid drills, the closure of schools, and the digging of trenches. On 23 December 1941, "The Protection of Persons and Property Order No. 1" was issued by the Queensland Government. This stated that the owners of all buildings in Brisbane where more than 30 people were usually congregated were required to construct air raid shelters. More than 200 public shelters were constructed by the Brisbane City Council, many in parks or near railway stations. Only a few dozen of these survive. Many residents built shelters in their yards in readiness for an attack. In May 1942, over 20,000 civil defence personnel took part in Brisbane's first full scale air raid practice. The threat lasted for another year before in June 1943 Prime Minister Curtin announced that the danger of invasion had passed.

A variety of methods and materials were used in the construction of air raid shelters, including poured concrete and masonry. Those air raid shelters privately built by residents were likely to range from simple covered trenches to more sophisticated shelters, such as this one in Mareeba Street, depending on the availability of materials and the owner's proficiency in building techniques. 

This air raid shelter is significant as a rare surviving example of a private shelter built in the front yard of a residence. It provides evidence of a period in Brisbane's history when citizen's keenly felt the threat of invasion or attack from the Japanese.

1. Beaumont, Joan, ed. Australia's War, 1939-45. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1996

2. McBride, Frank and Helen Taylor. Brisbane Remembers: The Home Front 1939-1945

3. Brisbane: Brisbane City Council 1995