Though I missed any Anzac events last year, relics and reminders of World War II in particular were not far away. I was amazed to see the old airfields along the highway between Katherine and Darwin, and stopped at some, especially those that had displays or similar.
It does make one have more understanding of the concerns our government at the time had for Australia and the preparations for the expected big invasion. I recall being somewhat overwhelmed at Possum Park just out of Miles, in Queensland, where the bunkers for storing munitions were now part of not only reminders, but of a functioning accommodation story.
There are memorials and other reminders in many places around Australia. Anotaher one that impacted on me was the underground hospital at Mt Isa. I hadn't known it existed until I arrived there, but being a former nurse, I had a special interest in the place. A museum staffed by volunteers is easy to locate and you can easily find your way along the pathway to the underground hospital, or what remains. It was carved out of the rock by miners from the nearby mine, and some of the tunnels are accessible, though it was nearly all lost, when there was other construction nearby and some of the tunnels were damaged. There's not much to see now as most of it has been filled in, but there is enough to get an idea of the enormity of what was going on there.
It is a time of refection to think about what would have happned if the hospital had been needed, but as it turned out, it was not.
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