13th Australian Personnel Staging Camp

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Brief History

The unit was established at Townsville in August 1942 with the departure of the 7th Infantry Brigade Group for Milne Bay in Papua. Its original location was the old Quarantine Station on Cape Pallarenda before it moved to Oonoonba in November. In order to reduce shipping movements, troops were sent to Townsville by rail and held at the Staging Camp until they embarked. At the same time troops returning south or for units on the Atherton Tableland were processed as quickly as possible. By August 1943 the unit was capable of holding 2,500 troops at any one time. Such was the need, that another Staging Camp was established south of Townsville at Julago (19th Australian Personnel Staging Camp)to handle the troops returning from overseas, leaving 13th Australian Personnel Staging Camp to focus on assembling and final equipping of troops leaving Australia. The continued to play this role until the end of the war.

Passing through

• John Francis (Jack) Cucel 14 - 28 Jul 1943
• George Charles Owens 3 Aug - 6 Sep 1943
• James Gordon (Jock) Wheeler 22 Aug - 9 Sep 1943
• Philbert John Charles Morel 14 - 16 Apr 1944

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 6 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 6.402 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018