25th Australian Infantry Battalion (WWII)

The Toowoomba-based 25th Battalion was also known as the ‘Darling Downs Regiment’. It was called up for service during 1940 and joined the 7th Brigade at Chermside before taking up defensive positions around Caloundra and later Rollingstone.  The 25th deployed to Milne Bay in New Guinea in 1942 and then went on to perform garrison duties in the Madang area as part of 7th Brigade. Later, it fought as part of the Bougainville Campaign, including the capture of Slater’s Knoll where the battalion repelled numerous Japanese attacks, with tank support from the 2/4th Armoured Regiment.  The 25th was disbanded on 7 February 1946 having lost 62 men killed and 174 wounded.