Australia entered World War II on 3 September 1939, being a self-governing nation within the British Empire.

The United States formally entered the war on 7 December 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan.

As such, the United States Armed Forces needed new bases in the South West Pacific for staging attacks on Japan's southern empire.

By spring 1943, the build up of the US Navy to support the Pacific War had caused overcrowding at the ports on the east coast of Australia.

Many deaths were caused by the diversion of food, such as rice, to Japanese troops from the New Guinea population.