31/51st Australian Infantry Battalion

Townsville’s 31st Battalion was also known as the ‘Kennedy Regiment’ and the 51st as the ‘Far North Queensland Regiment’. At the start of WWII, these battalions, together with the 26th, formed the 11th Brigade which was tasked with the defence of Far North Queensland.  By 1943, with the strength of the 31st and 51st Battalions severely depleted, the two units merged.  The 31/51st battalion served in Dutch New Guinea and later on Bougainville where the disastrous landing at Porton in the north resulted in 100 casualties including 14 killed, 7 missing and 79 injured.  After Japan’s surrender, the 31/51st performed garrison duties on Nauru and Ocean Islands and later at Rabaul.