HOUSE ON CORNER OF DENHAM STREET
AND WILLS STREET, TOWNSVILLE,
USED BY 11TH BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS 
DURING WW2

House on the corner of Denham and Wills Streets (possibly 180 Denham Street)

View from the stairs going up the hill 

The besser brick building to the right in the above photograph was the site of a house where a Signals Office was established by Arch Day for the 5th Australian Infantry Division.

View from Wills Street

The 11th Infantry Brigade Headquarters may have initially been located at Kissing Point.

Loftus Dun of the 31st Australian Infantry Battalion told me that he transferred to the Headquarters of the 11th Australian Infantry Brigade. The 11th Brigade Headquarters were located in a house on the corner of Denham Street and Wills Street at that time. It may be 180 Denham Street.

The view looking down Denham Street. The 11th Brigade HQ house is to the far right off the photo----->>

View looking up Denham Street
in July 2002

The 11th Brigade Headquarters "moved from Denham St. to the house mentioned by Loftus Dun, in Church St, up against Castle Hill. The signallers had built a bunker into the Hill, with quite big logs - at least 18" in diameter. I doubt that a direct hit would have done much damage, because the logs on the roof were huge and covered with dirt. While we were in the HQ at Church St, at West End, the signallers operated there all the time". 

After a short period at Church Street, the 11th Brigade Headquarters then moved to Nome.

Could this presence at West End be the connection with the stone buildings at West End and the communications cable?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Arch Day for his assistance with this home page.

Can anyone help me with more information?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 4 May 2002

This page last updated 25 January 2020