Rod 'Wulfe Ryder' Brown

During WW2 there was a defence proposal for Australia – one that, when it was ‘leaked’ to the Australian public, nearly tore the country apart!!!!
The plan was to draw an imaginary ‘line in the sand’ either from Brisbane to Melbourne, Brisbane to Adelaide or Brisbane to Perth…. It was behind this line/s that, if the Japanese Imperial Forces ever decided to invade Northern Australia all available troops and civilians would retreat until enough Australian and Allied troops could return from both the European and Pacific theatres of war.
As the troops retreated, they were to implement a ‘scorched earth policy’…. This meant burn, kill and destroy anything left behind that might be used to sustain an advancing army.

Although much about the ‘Brisbane Line’ has been largely forgotten by the Australian Public at large, what HAS been written about it in books and articles centre around the political ramifications and upheaval created once the plan was ‘leaked’ to the public.

The ‘Brisbane Line’ is a crucial part of Australian history, both militarily AND civilian, but as time goes by more landmarks are being lost to land development, apathy and lack of public concern. So far, to my knowledge, there has not been a comprehensive piece of literature encompassing ALL locations in the one piece of work.

My proposal is to ride to each actual site and concentrate on the story around these locations and the people ‘behind’ the politics. From the tank traps at Tenterfield to the Airfield at Monomeith east of Melbourne to the Air-raid Shelters in Adelaide, each historic landmark has its own individual story to tell and all come together to form a single story called ‘The Brisbane Line’.

The plan is to ride a fully restored (by myself) 1978 Suzuki SP 370 to prominent, and some not so prominent, WW2/Brisbane Line related sites.

Much of the ‘background’ research has been done, finding the locations of tank traps, tank trenches, airfields, and communication and radar bunkers and so on.

Each site still needs to be visited and ‘on the ground’ information gathered and collated. To do this I will be visiting local Museums, WW2 groups and talking to those who remember/were involved at time.

My contacts in different units of the Army and various local groups and organisation have been invaluable with information on the local areas and will ensure each site/location is researched thoroughly.

What still needs to be done is the actual ride to visit each location.

‘Doing A Line’ Ride Outline….

During WW2 there was a defence proposal for Australia – one that, when it was ‘leaked’ to the Australian public, nearly tore the country apart!!!!

The Governments plan was to draw an imaginary ‘line in the sand’ from either Brisbane to Melbourne, Brisbane to Adelaide or Brisbane to Perth…. It was behind this line that, if the Japanese Imperial Forces ever decided to invade Northern Australia, all available troops and civilians would retreat until enough Australian and Allied troops could return from both the European and Pacific theatres of war. As the troops retreated, they were to implement a ‘scorched earth policy’…. This meant burn, slaughter and destroy anything left behind that might be used to sustain an advancing army.

It also meant that anyone left behind was pretty much cactus as well.

I’m going to ride along where I believe the possible lines would have run. Brisbane, Tenterfield, Newcastle, Orange, Canberra, Batemans Bay, Mallacoota, Melbourne, Adelaide, Renmark and back to Brisbane along the Darling River. Along the way I’ll be catching up with a few legends of the dirtbike world, checking out the Tank Traps at Tenterfield, Ebor, Stockton Beach plus many others, getting in a ‘hot lap’ at Mt Panorama, checking out the War Memorial in Canberra, Catching up with family in Gippsland, Visiting Angove’s Winery in Renmark, exploring out hidden ammo bunkers at Miles and Communication buildings in Lowood as well as catching up with long lost and new found friends, PLUS there’s a whole host of bunkers, P.O.W. camps and WW2 related sites along the way as well.

And I’m going to write book 2 about the ride and the people I meet!

All on a vintage 1978 Suzuki SP370 I’m in the process of restoring.

Brisbane Line Itinerary

Sat 1st June 2013

- Leave home 8am (ish)

- Beaudesert

- Woodenbong

- Tooloom

- Paddy’s Flat - tank traps

- Drake tank traps????

- Sandy Hill - tank traps

- Captain Thunderbolts Hide Out

- Bald Rock - tank traps

- Tenterfield

Sun 2nd

- Glen Innes

- Inverell

- Guyra

- Ebor/Yaroonah - tank traps

- Armidale Kempsey rd tank traps/ Slim Dusty Way, follow road to the Styx River bridge (to be confirmed)

- Tamworth

Mon 3^rd

- Gloucester

- Nabiac -> poss aerodrome depending on road conditions

- Nelson Bay/Shoal Bay - Fort Tomaree

- Anna Bay / Stockton Beach - Tank traps, Anna Bay car park/s, end of James Patterson St

- Fort Wallace – 326 Fullerton St, Stockton

- Newcastle

Tues 4^th

- Nobby’s Battery – Nobby’s Rd, Port Hunter, Newcastle

- Fort Scratchley - Nobby’s Rd, Port Hunter, Newcastle

- Shepherd’s Hill battery – Shortland Esp., The Hill/Cooks Hill

- Fort Redhead – Little Redhead Point

- Cold Tea Creek tank trench at Belmont – running parallel to Capri Close

- Newcastle

Wed 5th

- Catherine Hill Bay - WWII RAAF Radar Station 208, Mine Camp Rd?

- Gosford

- Hornsby

- Penrith

- Lithgow

- Bathurst

- Orange

Thurs/Fri/Sat 6^th/7^th/8th

- Cowra P.O.W. Camp Site, Sakura Ave Cowra

- Mt Panorama

- Orange

Sunday 9th

- Lithgow –

- Anti-aircraft gun emplacements/bunkers,

- Small Arms Factory/Museum,Methvern Street

- Katoomba

- Penrith

- Campbelltown

- Wollongong

- Fort Drummond – Television Ave, below WIN television studios, Mt Saint Thomas

- Smiths Hill Fort/Battery Park – 36 Cliff Road, Wollongong North

- Illawarra Historical Society Inc, Illawarra Museum11 Market St, Wollongong

- Flagstaff Hill Fort – Endeavour Drive, Wollongong

- Pt Kembla

Monday 10^th

- Kemblawarra Tank Trench – North Eastern bank of Lake Illawarra, across/under King Street and Shellharbour rd to sea

- Second Tank Trench further south – Bridge South of Windang was rigged to blow up if needed.

- Port Kembla Heritage Park/Breakwater Battery Museum/ Kembla Fortress, Foreshore Road.

- Illowa Battery/Hill 60 – End of Gloucester Bld

- Brownsville to Mullet Creek /Berkley Tank Trench

Mt Kembla – trenches (to be confirmed)

Kembla Grange – trenches (to be confirmed)

Brokers Nose – trenches (to be confirmed)

- Port Kembla

Tuesday 11^th

- Goulburn

- Lake Bathurst – Fuel Storage Facility????

- Canberra War Museum

- Canberra

Wednesday 12^th

- Poohs Corner - Clyde Mountain pass

- Batemans Bay

- Broulee – site of WW2 Japanese Submarine landing party?

- Moruya – Airport site of WW2 anti-submarine search air base bunkers

- Bodalla

- Bega - Pioneers Museum, 87 Bega St Bega

- Mallacoota - Mallacoota Bunker, Betka Road

- Mallacoota

Thursday 13^th

- Bairnsdale - Remote Receiving Station

- Sale - Operations Building, Transmitting Building and Remote Receiving Station

- Morwell

- Warragul

Friday 14^th/ Saturday 15^th / Sunday 16^th

- Warragul – Rest, Relax, and Catch up with family and friends and celebrate my Sisters and Step daughters BIRTHDAYS!!!!

- Drouin

- Bayles - Monomeith Park Airfield

- WW2 P.O.W. Camp

- Frankston

Monday 17^st

- Mornington Peninsula- Port Nepean – Fort Pearce, Fort Nepean, Swan Island (????), Fort Queenscliff

- Geelong

- Ballarat - Eureka Stockade

- Ararat

- Stawell

- Halls Gap

Tuesday 18^th /Wednesday 19^th / Thursday 20^th

- cruise through the Grampians

- Dimboola- Spend some time with my Mum who I haven’t seen in over ten years :’)

Friday 21^st/Saturday 22^nd

- Bordertown

- Murray Bridge

- Hahndorf

- Adelaide

- Air Raid Shelter - Prospect Oval

- Air Raid Shelter – Glenelg Oval

- Air Raid Shelter - Torrensville Oval

- Lobethal

Sunday 28^th

- Williamstown

- Bethany

- Tanunda

Monday 29^th

- Renmark

- Angoves Winery

- Renmark

Tuesday 30^th

- Mildura

- Broken Hill - Broken Hill Gaol, During WWII all of Australia’s gold reserves were moved to here

- Wilcannia

Wednesday 1^st July

- Follow the Darling River if possible – Tilpa (Pub), Louth, Bourke

If not possible due to track conditions – Cobar (Airfield), Bourke

Walgett

Thursday 2^nd

- Moree

- Goondiwindi

- Miles

- Converted WW2 Bunkers

- Miles

Friday 3^rd

Lowood

- WW2 Operations building

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