1st Australian Army Reinforcement Depot

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Brief History

This unit was raised at Kleinton in Queensland during October 1942 to receive men who had completed their training with the Training Brigades, to hold them until they were needed, and then to forward them to operational units. As troop numbers in Queensland declined the role was transferrd to the 5th Advanced Reinforcement Depot, and the 1st Australian Reinforcment Depot was reallocated to New Guinea Force. They moved to Port Moresby in June 1943 in order to support the Lae offensive and once Lae was captured they moved to Munim near Lae in December 1943.

In mid-1944 troop numbers in New Guineea were reduced and units were being assembled back in Queensland for the task ahead. The unit left New Guinea in June 1944 to move to Warwick where they established eight companies holding reinforcements for specific units within 1st Australian Corps and 1st Base Sub Area. This role continued until the end of the war, later maintaining a depot at Morotai that provided troops in August 1945 to form the 63rd Australian Infantry Battalion and the 64th Australian Infantry Battalion which were formed to join the 33rd Infantry Brigade Group which had been given a role in occupying areas of the Netherlands East Indies.

Unit Personnel

• Leonard Wilfred Powell 23 Jul - 10 Aug 1943
• Harold Baldwin 26 Dec 1943 - 12 Jan 1944
• Frederick Haughton Dawson 4 Apr - 17 Jun 1945

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 6 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 6.258 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018