Story: Second World War

Oil tanks burning in Darwin, February 1942

Oil tanks burning in Darwin, February 1942

On 19 February 1942 the Japanese attacked Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory. Eight ships in the harbour were sunk and at least 250 people were killed. Following the Japanese capture of the British base of Singapore four days earlier and the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the previous December, anxiety about Japan's advances in the Pacific heightened. New Zealanders feared that they might be the next target.

Using this item

Australian War Memorial
Reference: 132532
Photograph by J. Morlet

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Ian McGibbon, 'Second World War - Japan enters the war', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/34572/oil-tanks-burning-in-darwin-february-1942 (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Ian McGibbon, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 1 May 2016