The little-known wartime history of a small South Australian town is the focus of a new in-depth podcast series.
Key points:
- Two naval officers were killed by a mine found at Beachport in 1941
- They were the first two Australians killed on home soil by enemy actions during WWII
- A podcaster hopes to highlight what was a major national event with her series
On July 14, 1941, two lobster fishermen returning from a trip at Beachport noticed a large metal object floating off the coast.
The discovery would lead to the first two deaths on Australia soil caused by enemy actions during World War II.
The object was a sea mine, which military historians believe was one of more than 240 dispersed in Australian waters in 1940.
A number of the mines became dislodged from their positions and eventually washed up on beaches across southern Australia.
A Royal Australian Navy team from Port Adelaide was sent to Beachport to tow the mine to shore and decommission it, but disaster struck during the operation.
“After a couple of attempts, when two of the sailors were going to check what was going on and why it hadn’t blown up as they had designed, a wave hit the spherical mine onto one of its horns and detonated it,” podcast creator Megan Spencer said.
The two men were Able Seaman Thomas Todd, 30, and Able Seaman William Danswan, 23.
‘Lost to the sands of time’
There is a memorial at Beachport for the fallen sailors, but the story of their deaths is not as well known as incidents such as the Darwin bombing or the Japanese mini-submarine attack on Sydney Harbour.
Ms Spencer said the story surprised her, despite her keen interest in military history.
“No-one knows about this story – or at least not many people do – and it’s a story of national significance,” she said.
“I remember when I first discovered it and was told about it, I was gobsmacked that this story about the first two casualties on Australian soil due to enemy action was relatively unknown.”
Ms Spencer spent more than two years researching and conducting interviews to paint a picture of what the mine meant for the country.
“It’s kind of a rollicking story in some respects, because no-one knew these German mines had been laid around Australia,” she said.
“Just the fact these first two lives lost on Australian soil happened down in Beachport, in this small place.
“It’s kind of lost to the sands of time.
“This mine made a huge impact on Beachport, and let’s not forget 12 mines washed ashore at Robe — this was ever present.”
‘A little closer to home’
Beachport, which is about 380 kilometres south-east of Adelaide, is a holiday town with a population of about 750.
Driving into it, you wouldn’t think you were entering the location of one of the most significant events to have happened on home soil during WWII.
That is something Beachport Museum is trying to change.
“People turn up and ask, ‘Wait, where did the mine come from?'” museum chair Elaine Donaldson said.
“Locals know though, because the stories have been passed down.
“The children who were in school at the time heard it explode and went out to look at the mine when it was first by the beach, at the jetty.”
Ms Donaldson added that the mine incident was a timely reminder of how close the war really was to home.
“The only this reason these things were discovered is that they were breaking loose and coming ashore,” she said.
“It just brings it a little closer to home that war is not to be celebrated.
“We commemorate it but we never celebrate it.”
The podcast When the War Comes Home: Beachport Mine Tragedy was created in conjunction with the Australia Virtual War Memorial.
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