00:00A sunny morning to remember a dark day in Australian history.
00:08But while the ANZACs opened proceedings, it was civilians and service people who took
00:12centre stage.
00:13While much attention is given to the military losses, and rightly so, we must also remember
00:19the immense toll it had on civilians.
00:22Families were torn apart, homes were destroyed, and essential services were obliterated.
00:28Eighty-three years on, those with ties to the bombing say commemorating the event now
00:32brings families together.
00:34It's lovely to see relatives come from far and wide, like there's a man here today from
00:39Sydney whose father was in the war in Darwin, and for us, my granddaughter, her son's here
00:46as well.
00:47For others, an opportunity to glimpse inside their family history.
00:51Well, he didn't speak about it.
00:53He went through so much, apparently.
00:56We only found out later on.
00:58The bombing of Darwin had a profound effect on the Adelaide River community, turning what
01:02was a rural, cosy township into a focal point for the Australian and American wartime effort.
01:08When Darwin was bombed in February 1942, Adelaide River was met with an influx of displaced
01:14civilians and military personnel.
01:17Before long, it was the site of a general hospital, an ammunitions dump, and barracks
01:21for tens of thousands of Allied soldiers.
01:24All the little towns, like even Catherine, Pine Creek, Adelaide River, there was only
01:31a few hundred people.
01:33So when the military came, Catherine had something like 91,000 military men, and they had all
01:39sorts of facilities with that.
01:41Eighty-three years on, the territory has transformed, but communities like Adelaide River ensure
01:46its past isn't forgotten.
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