Bibra Lake AWAS Camp

As the war progressed and Japan began to threaten the Pacific region, the men of Australia's armed forces were required for overseas duty.

Until 1941 enlisted men had been responsible for Australia's home defence, from signals to anti-aircraft batteries, but as the war came to New Guinea they were needed at the front.

[2] The camp consisted of a combined kitchen, mess and recreation room with a lean-to at the back, concrete-floored latrines and ablutions blocks, an engine shed, and an underground command post, all surrounded by barbed wire.

[3] Women at the camp were given milk by local dairy farmers, and in return gave them kitchen scraps to feed their poultry.

Searchlight women were trained in spotting, sound locating, command duties and computing, and as more men were sent overseas, increasingly in firearms and defence.

[2] The daughter of Private Margaret May Robertson (Royal Aust Corps Signal) discovered photographs from her mother's time at Bibra Lake.