| In WWII the familiar
shoulder patches that were used to distinguish units were supplemented
(not replaced) by Tactical Signs for use on vehicles and in other places
where signage for identification was necessary. They were a cross
between a badge and an identifying mark. A little of both.
The 3rd Australian Infantry Division
used a familiar animal and a familiar symbol, the Koala and a boomerang,
both in white on a black ground. Photographs from the Australian War
Memorial archives show that at least in New Guinea, this symbol was at
times reversed and the Koala faced the opposite direction. In some ways
it was an unfortunate choice as a symbol because it lead to the remark,
"Yair, koalas all right. A protected species.
Not to be sent overseas and not to be shot at".
Some
of the other units had fierce symbols such as a
sword, a wild boar, a crocodile or a scorpion.
Others had a kangaroo, rising sun or emu. One had a platypus, another an echidna.
None was as soft and as cuddly as a koala. However the 3rd Division
proved that a koala can have a nasty bite and the taunts stopped after Salamaua.
A brief history of the Division.-
This division was raised in 1942 and saw active service in New Guinea
against the Japanese. Battle honours were won at Salamaua, Buna, the
Huron Gulf and Markham Valley. The Division later went to Bougainville
in the Solomons.
It was made up of these brigades
and battalions;
| 7th Brigade |
9th, 25th and 61st Battalions |
| 15th Brigade |
24th, 57/60th and 58/59th
Battalions |
| 29th Brigade |
15th, 42nd
and 47th Battalions |
and at various times
these brigades were linked to the 3rd Division in the 2nd Australian
Corps (II Corps);
| 11th Brigade |
26th, 55/53rd and 31/51st
Battalions |
| 23rd Brigade |
7th, 8th and 27th Battalions |
|
