It is hard in this day and age to get a sense of how much industrial capacity was available or developed in Australia prior to during and even for some time after the war.
After being involved in a motorcycle accident in the Northern Territory as part of a signals unit my father was sent south for treatment and recovery. His injuries made him unfit for military duties and he was 'Man Powered' into the industrial workforce. This saw him trained as a welder and then used in the construction of pontoons and lighters in a yard in Footscray, a Melbourne suburb. I believe the yard fronted onto the Maribyrnong River which was heavily industrialised at that time including ammunition and ordnance factories, all of which has gone now.
I well remember attending Footscray Technical College in the early 60's when it was not unusual to hear test batches of ammunition being fired off in machine guns. The boat yards I guess were long closed.
David
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