A sweeping, meticulously researched account of Western Australia’s forgotten 'front line' during the darkest year of World War Two.
The four books are;
1. The Army comes to Northampton, Geraldton and Mullewa
2. The Army comes to Dongara, Mingenew and Morawa
3. The Army comes to Jurien Bay, Dandaragan and Moora
4. The Army comes to Gingin and Wanneroo
The War on the Sandplain series stands as one of the most comprehensive examinations of Western Australia’s defensive preparations during the terrifying months of 1942–43, when the Japanese advance across the Pacific created a genuine fear that Australia would be invaded. This was not paranoia but a reaction to real, rapid, and devastating events. In early 1942, Imperial Japan captured Malaya, Singapore, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies in quick succession.
Not to forget, the attack on Pearl Harbor a few months prior.
Japanese aircraft then attacked Darwin, Broome, Wyndham, Derby, Port Hedland, and Exmouth. The race was on to build up the defence of this Western Australian coastline.
The books reveal how HQ 3 Australian Corps believed that Geraldton—with its port, airfield, and strategic position—was the most likely landing point for a Japanese invasion force. At the time, there were no modern highways, only rough tracks linking the coast to inland towns like Moora, Dandaragan, and Mingenew. This isolation made the region both vulnerable and defence vital.
On 10 April 1942, the sudden arrival of 1,600 men of the Special Mobile Force at Mingenew marked the beginning of a massive military buildup. By August, 20,000 troops were deployed across the sandplain between Perth and Geraldton. Entire brigade groups were stationed at Geraldton, Mingenew, Dandaragan, and Gingin, while HQ 4th Infantry Division established itself at Moora.
By August 1943, troop numbers peaked at 32,000, including 160 tanks, 150 tracked vehicles, and hundreds of trucks from the 1st Armoured Division. HQ 2nd Infantry Division moved to Geraldton, reinforcing the belief that this remote coastline was Australia’s most likely invasion corridor.
The Sand Plain region became a vast, hidden defensive network—one largely forgotten in mainstream histories today.
War on the Sand Plain. Is a reminder of:
How close Australia come to invasion in WW2.
How urgently Western Australia prepared to fight on home soil
How thousands of soldiers lived in remote bush camps, waiting for an enemy that never arrived
How the Australian landscape itself became a defensive asset
