Once an air base in World War Two, little remains of RAAF Rathmines apart from some re-purposed buildings and a war memorial dedicated to the crews of Catalina flying boats based here. The beaching ramp where the Catalinas were brought ashore is now a boat launching ramp. Behind the memorial, the bowling club was once the officers’ mess.
History
Formed in 1939, the RAAF Station at Rathmines became one of the major flying boat bases for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II, and housed Nos 9, 11, 20, 40,41, 43 and 107 Squadrons at various stages during the war. Used as a training base after World War 2 it was closed and then sold in the early 1960s.
The Memorial
The area where the memorial stands was the site of the Commanding Officer`s residence and control tower. Built in 1972 and dedicated to all RAAF personnel who served on flying boats at Rathmines a Catalina propeller sits on top of the memorial. Walls on both sides commemorate those who died or served for their country and had passed through the base at Rathmines. Reading the names, we saw how young some of them were.
Club Catalina
Now a bowling club, Club Catalina was once the officer’s mess for the RAAF base. Unfortunately closed during our visit, the club contains a memorial wall commemorating and honouring RAAF personnel who operated and trained at the base during its service years.
What Did We Think?
Very easy to find with plenty of parking, we loved the history of the area as well as the views over the lake.
The Catalina War MemorialWall of RemembranceWall of RemembranceThe Dedication PlaqueThe Memorial Viewed Through TreesCommemoration of the Renaming of the BayCatalina BayThe Bowling Club’s Club Catalina
Containing many large artefacts from Port Kembla’s military and industrial past, the Port Kembla Heritage Park is both an interesting and educational to visit. We parked at the end of Gloucester Boulevard, although you could also use the carpark at Foreshore Road.
The area formed an integral part of the defences of Port Kembla during the Second World War, with several large guns emplaced here. Along with the battery at Hill 60, they defended the vital steel works from a potential Japanese invasion. The guns are long gone with the only reminder they were here being the large concrete emplacements and command tower which is now the Breakwater Battery Museum.
The field of white painted concrete tetrahedrons is one of the first things you see when arriving. Originally placed on the beach to impede enemy tanks they now form a display near the old gun emplacements. They are similar to the ones at Stockton that are sometimes visible at low tide.
Gun Emplacement with anti-tank tetrahedronsTetrahedron anti-tank obstacles
Breakwater Battery Museum
Although closed during our visit, the museum houses local military memorabilia. Housed in the old command centre for the gun battery, it is only open every 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month from 11AM to 4PM. If you intend visiting, check the opening times because they may change.
Sited next to the museum is a German 77mm field gun captured by the 45th Battalion AIF on the 8th of August 1918.
Breakwater Battery MuseumGerman 77mm Field Gun
Monuments and Memorials
Scattered around the park are several monuments and memorials to significant local events. The largest memorial is to the Dalfram Dispute of 1938. The dispute was a political industrial dispute at Port Kembla, protesting the export of pig iron from Australia to Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It became famous for providing the nickname of Pig Iron Bob to Attorney General Robert Menzies, later to serve as Prime Minister.
Two monuments to the dispute are located here, one that looks like a giant grenade and a smaller plaque with a picture of the Dalfram.
Representing the area’s industrial past, a large Cowans-Sheldon 30 Ton Steam Crane sits below the museum. Nearby are several anchors and a dredge bucket, representing Port Kembla’s shipping heritage.
Dalfram Dispute Memorial
Dalfram Dispute MemorialAnchor from the Gabriella. Memorial to lives lost when she capsizedCowans-Sheldon 30 Ton Steam CraneDredge bucketAnchor and Chain
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
Leading up to the Australian War Memorial, ANZAC Parade in Canberra contains memorials honouring those who served in Australia’s armed services. The best way to see all of the monuments is to walk the length of the Parade. We parked in the Constitution Avenue car park, so that we could walk up one side and back the other.
Taking time to see each memorial and taking photos, the walk took around 30 minutes each side. We broke the walk in two, visiting the War Memorial in between. At this point we also had morning tea at Poppy’s Café.
New Zealand Memorial
The New Zealand Memorial reflect the unique friendship between New Zealand and Australian people. The two kete or basket handles express the shared effort needed to achieve common goals in both peace and war. They also acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of the servicemen and women of both countries who fought shoulder to shoulder on foreign soil.
New Zealand Memorial
Boer War Memorial
This is a remarkably realistic and life-like memorial of four horse-mounted troopers. Dedicated to Australia’s first war fought as a nation, which saw over 16,000 men serve during the Second Boer War from 1889 to 1903. Although made of bronze, the colouring used highlights the colours of the horses and uniforms. This was our favourite memorial because of the life like sculptures.
Boer War Memorial One of the 1.5 times life-size troopers and his horse
Desert Mounted Corps Memorial
The first memorial to be constructed on ANZAC Parade, The Desert Mounted Corps Memorial commemorates all the Australian Mounted Divisions. These include the Australian Flying Corps and every other Australian and New Zealand unit and formation that served in Egypt, Palestine and Syria from 1916 to 1918.
It depicts a mounted Australian Light Horseman defending a New Zealander who stands beside his wounded horse.
The original Memorial was in Port Said, Egypt. However, Egyptian nationalists destroyed it during the 1956 Suez crisis. Created by Melbourne sculptor, Ray Ewers OAM it is a recreation of the original which was by C. Webb Gilbert.
Desert Mounted Corps Memorial
Australia Vietnam Forces National Memorial
Dedicated to all those who served in Vietnam, this memorial features three large stelae with engraving representing the war. The central engraving is of a helicopter transporting troops while another consists of words from soldiers describing the war.
The Australia Vietnam Forces National Memorial Australia Vietnam Forces National Memorial Etching showing troops being picked up by helicopters
Australian National Korean War Memorial
The Australian National Korean War Memorial commemorates the Australian’s would served and those who died during the Korean War. The stainless steel poles represent those who were killed, while the three figures represent the soldiers, sailors and airmen who served. There are several boulders placed at the memorial, which were sourced from Korean battlefields.
Hanging above the memorial, a stone halo contains the names of all the service personnel who died during the war.
Australian National Korean War MemorialStainless steel poles with an airman and soldier
Australian Army Memorial Canberra
This memorial recognises all conflicts involving Australian soldiers since the Second Boer War.
Australian Army Memorial Canberra
Australian Hellenic War Memorial
Commemorating the lives lost during the defence of Greece and Crete during World War Two, this memorial looks like a Greek amphitheatre. The Doric column symbolises the rise of civilisation, while the rusted beams illustrate the destruction of war.
Australian Hellenic War Memorial Australian Hellenic War Memorial
Kemal Ataturk Memorial
This memorial is named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) who, as a Lieutenant Colonel, commanded the Ottoman 19th Infantry Division when it resisted the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Arı Burnu on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915 during World War I. He went on to be the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first president, and received the honorific Atatürk (“Father of the Turks”) by the Turkish parliament.
It is the only memorial on ANZAC Parade dedicated to an enemy commander.
An inscription on the memorial, attributed to Atatürk, pays tribute to his former foes and reflects his understanding of the cost of war:
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
The quote honours all former enemy soldiers who have died in Turkey.
Kemal Ataturk Memorial Kemal Ataturk Memorial
Royal Australian Navy Memorial
The Royal Australian Navy Memorial honours those who have as well as those who still serve in the Australian Navy. The figures show sailors performing different duties and the geometric shapes represent different parts of a ship.
The flowing water adds to the whole navy theme, because different areas have different sounds. The front areas hisses, like the water at the bow of a ship, while the rear part throbs like a propeller.
Royal Australian Navy Memorial
Australian Service Nurses National Memorial
Commemorating all service nurses who died and those who suffered through war, the Australian Service Nurses National Memorial is a flowing blue cast glass sculpture. Covered in etched writing from diaries – in the original handwriting and photos, it illustrates the life and danger wartime nurses endured.
Several of the panels remain blank, symbolizing the inconclusive nature of this type of memorial.
Australian Service Nurses National Memorial Australian Service Nurses National Memorial
Royal Australian Air Force Memorial
This memorial honours the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Flying Corps. Representing a wing the memorial is symbolic of flight, but we found this too abstract. This was one of the harder to understand sculptures, without researching its meaning.
Royal Australian Air Force Memorial
Rats of Tobruk Memorial
Commemorating the Siege of Tobruk during the North African campaign of the Second World War Two, the memorial honours the 14,000 Australian and 8,000 Allied troops who defended the town for 241 days. Named the rats as a derogatory term by German propaganda, the defenders took on the name as a badge of honour. They successfully held of 37,000 German and Italian troops until relieved by the advancing Allied 8th Army.
The original memorial located in the Tobruk War Cemetery was destroyed. However, the inscription stone was retrieved and is now incorporated into this memorial. The twisting bronze sculpture represents the eternal flame.
Rats of Tobruk Memorial
Australian Peacekeeping Memorial
Since 1947 more than 80,000 military, police and civilian peacekeepers have served in 62 peacekeeping missions. This memorial commemorates their service.
Australian Peacekeeping Memorial
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