Rathmines as an Engine Room of Total War

The great battles in the Pacific during World War II are well known and have long been the subject of reverence in histories, memorials, education and even creative expressions such as art and movies. It is not difficult to identify on a map where a battle occurred, find out the names and stories of the people who took part, the weapons and technology used and the eventual outcome of the battle.

These battles in the Pacific were significant events in World War II, but they were also significant as they directly influenced the lives of millions of people and helped shape the politics of Asia and America over the next 50 years. We can begin with these battles and follow the path of ‘cause and effect’ all the way to our own lives. These battles directly link to our national story.

However, it is often forgotten that these great Pacific battles in World War II were not spontaneous events. They were only possible because of the 'total war' effort being exerted by multiple nations around the globe. The people who took part in the battles had to be enlisted, trained and supplied. The weapons used had to be invented, trialled, manufactured and maintained. The sites of battles had to be found, mapped, supplied and connected to protected places. Communications had to be established. Military strategy had to be considered. All of these needs had to be met prior to any battle taking place, and it is this need for total war that saw the establishment of Rathmines Air Base.

Rathmines was a place of education. RAAF pilots and crews were sent to Rathmines to learn how to fly sea planes. Likewise, search and rescue crews were educated at the base.

It was a place for technological maintenance, with most models of sea plane being moved through the base for conversion into military tools, maintenance and more major repair needs, including rebuilding the planes.

It was a place of reconnaissance, with the base housing WAAAF personnel who recorded and translated communications from allies and the enemy.

Even the most important technology on the base, the great Catalina flying boats, were never meant for battle. No Catalina was flown out of Rathmines and into battle. There were limited instances of Catalinas being flown out of more northern bases to engage in night bombing missions of Japanese occupied ports, prior to the RAAF building up their supply of planes fit for this purpose. Rather, the powerful Catalinas, capable of long-distance travel, were used as reconnaissance vehicles to watch enemy movements and alert the Pacific fleets.

Famously, it was an Australian Catalina pilot that found and shadowed the Japanese force that engaged with the Allies in the Battle of the Coral Sea. These work horses of the air were also vital in retrieving soldiers who had been forced to abandon ships or planes in battles. Their ability to land on water meant soldiers were able to be plucked from the sea and the great size of the plane meant many soldiers, or sometimes Prisoners of War, could be airlifted to safety and medical care. Most importantly, the massive carrying capacity of the Rathmines Catalinas saw them used in highly secret missions to mine various areas of sea and ports in order to protect civilians from invasion and to herd the enemy into areas where the Allies would be able to geographically command battles. Due to the slow speed of the Catalinas, and the secret nature of these missions, they almost always occurred at night, and the Catalinas were painted black for the purpose, giving rise to the nickname Black Cats.

Rathmines is not like other heritage sites of World War II. Unlike sites found in places like Darwin, the Kokoda Track, Pearl Harbour, or Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this is not a place of death, loss, horror, desperation, valorous individual actions, bravery or national myths.

There is no "baptism of fire" here. This place was not important to the war effort for a mere matter of weeks or months of desperate fighting. RAAF Rathmines was part of the engine room of the war effort in the Pacific. This is a place where the concept of total war was made possible. This is a place where civilian individuals, societies and economies were converted to war ready assets. Without places like Rathmines, the inspiring and equally horrifying battles of the Pacific in World War II would never have been possible. Rathmines is a place where the concept of total war became a reality in Australia.

This work by Lake Macquarie City Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License