2/2nd Australian Port Operating Company

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Brief History

The Middle East Docks Operating Detachment was formed at Dimra in Palestine during January 1942. With the recall to Australia, the unit arrived in Adelaide in March 1942 where their early work was unloading the troops and equipment returning from the Middle East. In March an expanded unit became known as the 2/2nd Australian Docks Operating Company and in June they moved to Camp Pell in Victoria before leaving for New Guinea, via Townsville in July. hey arrived in Port Moresby in September and operated the port there until July 1943 when they were relieved. Returning to Australia they moved to the RAE Training Centre at Kapooka.

In August the unit was split to form the 7th Australian Docks Operating Company - both with reduced establishment. in September the unit left for New Guinea again to work first at Buna until Lae was captured and its port repaired. They then moved to Lae in October 1943 where they remained the main unit operating the port which became the main base for New Guinea operations. In March 1945 they were relieved and moved to Meadowbank in NSW for rest and retraining. They remained there until the end of the war, transferring to the new Transportation Corps in August 1945 as the 2/2nd Australian Port Operating Company.

Unit Personnel

• Eric John Peverett 14 Oct 1945 - 15 Feb 1946

Individual Honours

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 3 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 3.535 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018