by FilmInk Staff
A new feature documentary which will commemorate the most significant wartime military attack on Australian soil is in production, and calling on veteran families, RSL Clubs and Sub Branches, and the military community to share veterans’ stories.
The documentary which is set to be released in February 2027, will be accompanied by a curriculum aligned educational study guide, and will document stories passed down from veterans who served when WW2 arrived on our shores.
All of the stories will be collated and made available to the public, and will also be included in the educational resources so this part of our national history can be easily taught in schools.
The documentary and education resources are part of a project called:
DARWIN 1942: the forgotten war that reshaped Australia.
On 19 February 1942, Japanese bomber planes launched two raids on Darwin as part of their quest to dominate the Pacific. The raids continued for 21 months, and more bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor.
The raids took place 10 weeks after the Japanese Imperial Forces bombed the US at Pearl Harbor, and only four days after defeating the British at the Fall of Singapore. The Japanese were winning the war in the Pacific.
Many of our troops were being sent to fight the war in Europe, but everything changed after 19 February 1942 when the war came to Australia.
The director of DARWIN 1942, Richard Attieh, is in the process of connecting with veteran families, reading memoirs and digging through archives to research and build an online digital library to remember our veterans.
“The DARWIN 1942 project started as a 10-minute ANZAC Day segment for a weekly tv program I produce”, explains Richard. “After receiving many requests from RSL Clubs and Sub Branches to screen the segment at ANZAC Day services, and to repeat the segment on our show, we met with key people connected to the story and developed this commemorative feature-documentary and education project.”
The project is currently in pre-production and set to be released at the 85th anniversary of the first bombing raid on Darwin – which will be on 19 February 2027.
The production team have been collating stories around the bombing of Darwin and the battles on Australian soil, and have connected with over 30 RSL Clubs, Sub-Branches and veteran families so far. Richard says the stories are inspiring.
“I have the privilege of speaking with children of veterans, and hearing the stories they have passed down first-hand,” says Richard.
“The stories make you proud to be an Australian.”
Richard and his team are looking to connect with more veteran children, RSL Clubs and Sub Branches, military historical societies, schools, and people who are interested in learning about this part of our history, and keeping the stories of our veterans alive.
Stories can be contributed to the project via the project website, Darwin1942.com, or via the projects Veterans Stories Facebook group which can be found by searching Darwin 1942 Veteran Stories.
People can also connect with the project by sending an email to darwin1942@darwin1942.com.
