Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion

Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion

The Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion was an Australian infantry battalion of World War II. The Battalion was unique in that almost all of its enlisted men were Torres Strait Islanders, making the Battalion the only Indigenous Australian Battalion ever formed by the Australian Army.

The Torres Strait Light Infantry was initially formed as an independent infantry company in May 1941. It was expanded in June 1942, with one fifth of the population of the Torres Strait volunteering for service. As a result of this remarkable influx of volunteers the Torres Strait Company was expanded to a full battalion in early 1943. Throughout the war the Battalion was based on Horn Island and Thursday Island in the Torres Strait where it formed an integral part of the Islands' defences. A detachment from the battalion conducted a patrol into Japanese held Dutch New Guinea from October to December 1943.

Due to the racial policies in place at the time, Torres Strait Islanders originally only received one third of the pay of white soldiers of equal rank. In response to this and other concerns, ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ Companies of the Battalion briefly went on strike in late December 1943. In February 1944 the Army agreed to increase the soldiers' pay to two-thirds of that of white soldiers and the soldiers received full back pay for their war service in the 1980s. Despite the discriminatory pay scales the Islanders generally appreciated the Army's culture, as the Army's discipline and hierarchy allowed them to be treated with respect by white soldiers.

The Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion was disbanded in 1946. 'C' Company of the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment (51 FNQR) was established in the Torres Strait in 1987 as a Regional Force Surveillance Unit (RFSU) responsible for sovereignty patrols in the Torres Strait.

ources

* Vanessa Seekee [http://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/12/article.asp "One ilan man": the Torres Strait Light Infantry] in "Wartime" Issue 12.
* Vanessa Seekee [http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww2/bfa/island_defenders.html Island Defenders]
* ABC Radio - AM [http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s401912.htm The Torres Strait Star]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Murray Island, Queensland — This article refers to an Australian island. The American one is referred to as Murray Isle Murray Native name: Mer Geography Location Torres Strait Archipelago Torres Strait Islands Tota …   Wikipedia

  • Indigenous Australians — This article is about the original inhabitants of Australia. For the Australian definition in law, see Australian Aborigines. Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders …   Wikipedia

  • List of World War II topics (T) — # T 26 # T 27 # T 28 Super Heavy Tank # T 28 # T 34 variants # T 34 # T 35 # T 37 tank # T 38 tank # T 40 # T 43 tank # T 44 # T 50 tank # T 6 Texan variants # T 6 Texan # T 60 tank # T 70 # T G Building, Brisbane # T. E. Burridge # T. H. Jordan… …   Wikipedia

  • Yam Island (Queensland) — Yam Island (Iama Island) is an island in the Bourke Isles, 100km North East of Thursday Island Queensland, Australia in the Tancred Passage Torres Strait.This island is one of the Torres Strait Islands. Its indigenous language is Kulkalgau Ya, a… …   Wikipedia

  • Colonial forces of Australia — Until Australia became a Federation in 1901, each of the six colonial governments was responsible for the defence of their own colony. From 1788 until 1870 this was done with British regular forces. In all, 25 British regiments served in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Townsville, Queensland — Infobox Australian Place | type = city name = Townsville state = qld caption = The CBD from Palmer Street, South Townsville Castle Hill in the background pop = 143,328Census 2006 AUS|id=3057|name=Townsville (QLD) (Statistical… …   Wikipedia

  • List of World War II films — Below is an incomplete list of fictional feature films or mini series which feature events of World War II in the narrative. A separate list of full fledged TV series appears at the end. Contents 1 Restrictions 2 Films made during the war …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”