War Time
During World War II, up to 10,000 troops were stationed in and around Tenterfield. Many had returned from the Middle East and were trained at the London Bridge Army Camp in jungle warfare before being sent to New Guinea and the Pacific.
Up until the early 1950s, the Mount Lindesay Highway was the New England Highway – the only all-weather road from Sydney to Brisbane, and was identified as being of strategic importance. The Tank Traps were built 1km north of the London Bridge Training Camp, and the site was chosen as the area either side of the road could not be easily bypassed. The huge boulders on the hillside on the eastern side of the road were considered too much of an obstacle for the light Japanese Tanks. Three rows of wooden posts were to force the tanks to rise up and expose their soft underbelly.
The area was part of the ‘Brisbane Line’, and similar low profile defensive positions were established along many minor and major roads. The Brisbane Line was a line drawn from Brisbane to Adelaide (some say it was from Brisbane to Perth). It was claimed that as Australia was unable to protect its huge coastline, the more densely populated areas would be protected, and should an invasion occur, the population north of the line would be evacuated south.
Tenterfield Mounted Riflemen, Capt. Will Hoskin, Private Bert Dickson and Private P. Connelly
Tabulam Tank Traps