After securing Labuan, the 24th Brigade was landed on the northern shore of Brunei Bay on 16 June, while the 20th Brigade continued to consolidate the southern lodgement by advanced south-west along the coast towards Kuching and securing the hinterland as well. The &lt;a href="2/32nd%20Battalion%20%28Australia%29"&gt;2/32nd Battalion&lt;/a&gt; landed at Padas Bay and seized the town of Weston, before sending out patrols towards Beaufort, inland. Held by 800–1,000 Japanese, on 27 June an attack was carried out there by the &lt;a href="2/43rd%20Battalion%20%28Australia%29"&gt;2/43rd Battalion&lt;/a&gt;. Amid a torrential downpour and encountering difficult terrain, the 2/32nd Battalion secured the south bank of the Padas River, while one company from the 2/43rd was sent to take the town and another marched to the flanks, to take up ambush positions along the route that the Japanese were expected to withdraw along. The 2/28th Battalion secured the lines of communication north of the river. On the night of 27/28 June the Japanese launched six counterattacks which devolved into hand-to-hand combat. Amid appalling conditions, one company became isolated and the next morning another was sent to its aid to attack the Japanese from the rear. Fighting its way through numerous Japanese positions, the company killed at least 100 Japanese and one of its members, Private Tom Starcevich, was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts.