‘Bombala’s World War II tank traps are no myth’
Tim the Yowie Man
Tim the Yowie Man
Sure, I’ve explored remnant tank traps elsewhere along our east coast, including concrete tetrahedron (triangular pyramid) traps on Stockton Beach, near Newcastle, that occasionally resurface depending on swells and the sand blow. And many years ago, while traipsing through scrub near Tenterfield, in north-east NSW, I also stumbled across a purpose-built barrier of timber posts. Some claim they once formed part of the Brisbane Line, a defence proposal allegedly formulated during WWII to “concede” the northern portion of the Australian mainland in the event of a Japanese invasion.
But what about the barrier of timber posts along a little-known fire trail near Bombala in far south NSW?
A dip into local history files reveals that during WWII this inland fire trail connected NSW’s far south coast with the national capital and beyond, meaning it had strategic importance.
What’s more, Bombala’s World War II tank traps are no myth – dozens of timber obstacles, about 70cm tall, lie deep inside South East Forest National Park, on either side of the fire trail. They’re truly a sight to behold.
Documents held by the Department of Defence reveal the traps are the handiwork of the 15th (NSW) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC), which was based in Bombala. A close inspection of these wooden posts reveals they are textbook examples of timber tank traps, their makers having followed to a tee the instructions detailed in the 1941 Volunteer Defence Corp Manual. In Pamphlet No. 6, titled Tank hunting and destruction, under the section about “obstacles” and subsection “stumps”, are the following instructions: “Tree stumps will stop tanks when they are sturdy enough to raise the tracks off the ground by fouling the belly of the tank between the tracks. For this purpose, stumps should be not less than 12 inches [30cm] in diameter and should be 2ft 3ins [70cm] in height. To prevent tanks manoeuvring between stumps, the gaps must be reduced as in the case of trees. Belts of stumps must possess some depth; a single line will not stop tanks.”
Although some of the fire trail’s timber obstacles have rotted away, there are still enough standing to appreciate how the ‘trap’ could slow enemies advancing in small tanks.
A national parks inventory of the site explains the tank traps were part of a broader ‘military complex’ that included a wooden fort and two foxholes for explosives on a hairpin corner on nearby Big Jack Mountain Road. Sadly, those foxholes have collapsed (or been filled in), and the fort succumbed to bushfire in 2020, meaning the timber posts are the only tangible reminders of the historic defence system. The inventory also states that “the military operations were kept ‘hush-hush’ in the local area”, which was “consistent with the general censorship policy undertaken by the Commonwealth government in regard to the war efforts on the home front”
Surely, more than 80 years on, understanding of these war relics should be better. They tell an important story from wartime Australia and ought to be heritage-listed.
