Lang, I think a lot of it was the road surface.

Attachment 96587

Attachment 96588

Attachment 96589

Attachment 96590

Regards Rick.

Yes Rick, I agree. If you walk around the area in that part of Darwin you can see how sandy it is.

Lang

Hathi ARN numbers C201,202,203,204 were sold to Thornycroft Pty Ltd, C205,206,207,208 were sold to Used Motor Parts Dealers

Ken

..And zooming in on "Google Maps" reveals the site's PRU heritage, with some curious outlines painted on the ground to befuddle any would-be Photo Interpreters. Must be undercoat, as the Cam paint is not yet applied.

AWM 126 Book 5

Rick,

Look up '205' in the AMF registration books and you'll find that Hathi. The 'C' was the prefix on vehicles registered under the Uniform Commonwealth Registration scheme applicable to all Comm Govt departments and appeared on the number plates issued by the Department of Interior. Once metal plates were dispensed with for Army and Air Force in 1941 (because of the sheer volume of vehicles being acquired), the 'C' was dropped from the registration. At the time of transition, you sometimes see the 'C' painted on the bonnet as a prefix, but most simply had the number painted as per the ROs.

The AMF books (not the AIF books) held under AWM 126 list the number less the 'C' prefix.

The cab 12: I think it is a GS with the cab back/roof removed.

RAAF 201897 is a 1942 Chevrolet, Series 15, so a Canadian-supplied chassis/running gear (and cab?). The lorry was assembled in Melbourne (chassis number was 42M759)

The '333' unit sign on the CMP in post #1 is that of 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit. The digits are dark blue painted onto a 'sky blue' background. RAAF and US Army units coming under command of NT Force all carried unit signs issued by NT Force HQ - it is the only instance I have come across where RAAF and US Army carried Aust Army-issued unit signs.

TSS Zealandia was indeed sunk in Darwin Harbour. It was a Huddart-Parker Ltd pass/cargo ship taken over by the Commonwealth on 21 June 1940, and used as a troop transport until sunk in Darwin on 19 Feb 1942. First hit by a bomb down No.3 hatch, then raked with cannon and MG, the ship caught fire and stored ammunition started exploding. The ship was abandoned and settled by the stern, sinking until only the masts and top of the funnel were visible. The ship's military career spanned two wars: it has also been used for trooping in the First World War, carrying US troops across the Atlantic, then post-war, returning AIF troops to Australia.

Mike

Royal Commission
 

I recall seeing a TV re-enactment of the Royal Commission looking into the Darwin 19th Feb raids. The RAAF base or area commander was interrogated , the authorities were looking for a scapegoat .

My father witnessed the raid at close quarters, being a crew member of HMAS Playtpus. Only ever got little bits n pieces out of him . He did tell me there was a dead nurse in the water. Apparently he wasn't on board when the raid began. Many of the veterans wanted to forget it all , anything to do with the war. But he did have fond memories of the 'Plats' as he called the ship.

photos
 

What a great thread. Those photos are terrific.

In post number 28 the photo caption mentions "a low wheeled drug".

What is a drug please?

He also portrayed the prosecutor in "Breaker Morant."

Robin

It was a term for a low wagon or carriage for heavy loads (could even have referred to a sled for logs or rocks)

Carried over from the horse days but replaced with the modern expression "trailer"

Lang

The application of the word drug to this type of transport would have to derive from the word drag and it may not have had widespread usage at any time and may spring from an individuals dialect.
I have a book on the early days of heavy haulage in Scotland and the north of England in which there is text and photographs relating to loads of up to 130 tons. The trailers on which these loads were carried usually had no steering as that would have increased the height of the load to an unacceptable level. These trailers had to be 'dragged' or skidded around corners.
Another comment made in the book is that the trailers didn't have any form of braking and that the wheel bearings had that much rolling resistance that motion would cease when you stopped pulling.
If that doesn't constitute a 'drag' I don't know what would.

David

Dave

Interesting word - no doubt from "drag"

I had never heard it until this thread but within a few days I saw reference to a "drug" on the battlefield in France in WW1 hauling a huge siege gun.

I found the reference I put up above on Google but I think it is one of the more simple mysteries of word origin.

The park drag carriage was a lighter, more elegant version of the Road Coach. A park drag (or simply drag) is also known as a "private coach" as it was owned by private individuals for their own personal driving. A park drag has seats on its top and is usually driven to a team of four well-matched carriage horses.

Maybe it comes from Mr Gurney who invented a use for his steam engine - "The Gurney Drag"



Lang