00:00If you know where to look around our region, there are still quite a few tangible reminders dating back to World War II that were constructed to defend against possible Japanese attack.
00:12Poo Corner on a hairpin bend on the Clyde Mountain is perhaps the best known of these, where in 1942 a tunnel was dug under the King's Highway and packed with explosives.
00:25If a Japanese invading force landed near Batemans Bay, the plan was to slow their progress towards Canberra by blowing up the road.
00:37After the war, the explosives were removed and the tunnel was concreted up.
00:42Further south, on another mountain pass near Bambala, not only were similar foxholes dug out at strategic locations, but also a network of wooden tank traps were installed.
00:55They are still there today.
00:57Meanwhile, in May 1942, the RAAF detached No. 11 Operational Base Unit to the Maruya Aerodrome.
01:08Their tasks were anti-submarine warfare, reconnaissance, coastal shipping protection and rescue.
01:17More than 80 years on, parts of this base remain intact.
01:22This includes two bomb bunkers, including one now smack bang in the middle of the local race course, an operations bunker the size of a house that has been converted into a pistol club range, and a radio transmitting station.
01:42The latter was located well away from the airfield to enable it to keep in operation if the aerodrome was attacked.
01:50There were two rooms, and at each end, a pillbox allowed sentry duty, and, if the worst came to the worst, a position for machine gunners.
02:02This underground bunker even has a still-working escape hatch, although I don't think I'm going to try it today.
02:25You can see all of these bunkers on occasional tours run by the Maruya Remembers Committee.
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