Its formation marked a rare departure from the traditional Australian focus upon part-time citizen forces and is arguably a key moment in the development of a professional standing army.

[4] The Darwin Mobile Force was formed in response to growing concerns about the potential for war, which had resulted in the Australian government seeking to increase the readiness of the military through the creation of a number of regular army mobile forces to defend strategic locations around the country.

[9] While ostensibly the force was to bolster the defences of the strategic port of Darwin—which were at the time defended by the units of the 7th Military District—conceptually its role was much broader than this.

[10] Training was completed by February 1939 and the following month the force paraded through the City of Sydney, after which the advance party embarked upon the Marella.

[4] Although the force did not receive any battle honours and ultimately did not see any action during the war, arguably its contribution to Australia’s defence was in the personnel it provided to the Army.