61st Battalion ( Australia ) The 61st Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army . It was originally raised in 1917 during the First World War but was disbanded the same year without seeing active service . Later it was re - raised as a part of the Militia in 1938 in Brisbane , Queensland . Upon the outbreak of the Second World War they initially undertook garrison duties in Australia , however , in 1942 they were deployed to New Guinea where they took part in the Battle of Milne Bay , during which the Japanese were defeated for the first time in a major land battle . In late 1943 , the 61st Battalion was withdrawn back to Australia for a period of re - organisation and training before being deployed overseas again in late 1944 . This time they were deployed to Bougainville , where the Australian 3rd Division had taken over from the American garrison and the battalion joined the drive towards the Japanese stronghold at Buin in the south of the island . Following the end of the war , the 61st Battalion was disbanded as part of the demobilisation process on 8 January 1946 . History . Formation . The 61st Battalion was initially raised in the United Kingdom in February 1917 as part of the Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) during the First World War in an effort to raise the 6th Division . However , following manpower shortages that occurred as a result of heavy losses amongst the AIF on the Western Front in 1917 and the failure of attempts to introduce conscription in Australia , it was decided to disband the division and its subordinate units in September 1917 and use their personnel to reinforce other units . As a result the 61st Battalion was disbanded without seeing active service . In 1938 , the 61st Battalion was re - raised as part of the Militia in response to growing tensions in Europe . At this time , the battalion was formed in the Brisbane – Ipswich area with a small detachment based in Toowoomba . The main driving force behind convincing the government to establish the battalion was Sir Donald Cameron , and from the outset it was intended that the unit should be a Scottish battalion and approval was gained for its personnel to be equipped with Scottish - style uniforms including kilts and Glengarry cap s . The funds for this equipment , however , were not provided for by the government and was a cost that the battalion had to meet itself , which it did so through an appeal for donations from the public . At this time many of the battalion ' s initial personnel were men of Scottish birth or ancestry , although later intakes of personnel included men of diverse heritage . In 1939 , the battalion was officially bestowed with the title of the " Queensland Cameron Highlanders " , when an alliance with the Queen ' s Own Cameron Highlanders was approved by King George VI . Training was undertaken on a voluntary and unpaid basis with weekly parades being undertaken at Kelvin Grove , while field training took place at Fraser ' s Paddock in Enoggera and Redbank . By July 1939 , the battalion ' s strength was 550 officers and other ranks . Second World War . Home duties . At the outset of the Second World War , due to the provisions of the " Defence Act ( 1903 ) " which prohibited sending the Militia to fight outside of Australian territory , the decision was made to raise an all volunteer force , the Second Australian Imperial Force ( 2nd AIF ) , to serve overseas — initial operations were conceived to be likely in the Middle East , France and later possibly England — while it was decided that the Militia would be used to defend the Australian mainland from possible attack and to improve Australia ' s overall level of readiness through the reinstitution of compulsory military service and extended periods of continuous periods of training . Although ultimately the number of men that joined the units of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force from the Militia was in fact lower than anticipated , a large number of such personnel left to seek an opportunity to serve overseas . In this time the 61st Battalion lost many of its experienced senior officers and non - commissioned officers to the 2 / 25th and 2 / 33rd Battalions that were raised in Queensland , as well as to the Royal Australian Air Force . Of note was the loss of the battalion ' s pipe and drum band , which joined the 2 / 25th en masse . A 61st Battalion officer , Major Charles Withy , also went across with them serving initially as the second in command and then later as the 2 / 25th ' s commanding officer . Nevertheless , despite this loss of personnel the battalion undertook a number of periods of continuous training throughout 1940 – 42 as the Militia were called up progressively for various periods of extended training consisting of between 70 to 90 days . During this time they joined the rest of the 7th Brigade , to which they were assigned , at Chermside , Queensland . While there , the battalion replaced its Scottish equipment with regular service gear . In September 1941 , as the strategic situation in the Pacific worsened , the battalion was " called up " to provide full - time service for the duration of the war . As a result of this , the battalion was brought up to its full strength of 910 personnel of all ranks . In December , after the Japan ese attacks on Pearl Harbor and Malaya , they undertook defensive duties around Caloundra before moving to Townsville in May 1942 to defend against a possible invasion . Milne Bay , 1942 – 43 . In early 1942 , the situation in the Pacific grew worse as the garrison at Singapore fell and the Japanese began to advance south towards Australia . In March , they landed Lae and Salamaua on the north coast of New Guinea , and then later in July they landed at Buna and Gona in Papua . By this time the Australian government decided to bring the units of the 2nd AIF back from the Middle East to defend against a possible Japanese invasion of Australia and although this process had begun , the only troops available to respond immediately to the Japanese landings were units from the Militia . Troops from the 30th Brigade had already been deployed around Port Moresby , however , over the course of a month in July and August the 61st Battalion , along with the rest of the 7th Brigade , was moved to Milne Bay , situated on the eastern tip of New Guinea , where the 61st took up defensive duties around the airstrip at Gili Gili alongside the 25th Battalion . On the night of 25 / 26 August 1942 about 2 , 000 Japanese marines with tank support carried out an amphibious landing north of Milne Bay . As the Japanese advanced towards the 7th Brigade ' s main defensive position from their beachhead around Waga Waga , the 61st Battalion bore the brunt of the initial assault and temporarily halted the Japanese advance with an ambush before launching a counterattack against them . The following morning , however , after the 2 / 10th Battalion had come under attack from Japanese armour , the 61st Battalion was also forced back towards the No . 3 airstrip , where they formed a defensive line against the main Japanese thrust which came on 31 August . With strong artillery support , the 61st and 25th Battalions managed to turn back the Japanese attack , inflicting heavy casualties and in the process seizing the initiative . Following this , elements of the 18th Brigade advanced towards the Japanese beachhead , which they subsequently captured on 6 September , inflicting upon the Japanese their first defeat in a major battle on land during the war . During its involvement in the battle , the 61st Battalion suffered 19 killed and 27 wounded . They remained at Milne Bay until March 1943 , however , when they were withdrawn to Donadabu , near Port Moresby where the battalion undertook training exercises and carried out patrols around the villages that were scattered around the start of the Kokoda Track . As the battalion was brought back up to full establishment , they were warned out for combat on a number of occasions , however , eventually it was decided to withdraw the 7th Brigade back to Australia in November 1943 . For his leadership of the battalion during this time , the 61st Battalion ' s commanding officer , Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Meldrum , was awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) . Captain Charles Bicks , who had commanded ' B ' Company during the fighting around Milne Bay , also received a DSO . New Guinea and Bougainville , 1944 – 45 . After a period of leave , the battalion began to reform on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland during February 1944 and for the next eight months they undertook a number of exercises and training periods as they prepared for the next stage of the war . During this time , the battalion ' s authorised strength was reduced to 803 men of all ranks , as the 3rd Division was converted to the Jungle divisional establishment . On 20 July 1944 , the 61st Battalion embarked upon HMAT " Katoomba " in Cairns and proceeded overseas again . They arrived at Madang in New Guinea four days later . As it was considered that there were still isolated pockets of Japanese in the area , the battalion began patrolling operations almost as soon as they had landed . They remained at Madang , undertaking garrison duties , until November 1944 when the 61st Battalion was transferred to Torokina on Bougainville Island as Australian troops took over responsibility of the island from the American garrison . Initial Allied intelligence estimates placed the size of the Japanese forces on Bougainville at around 18 , 000 men , however , it was later determined that the number was closer to 40 , 000 . Nevertheless , it was decided that the Australians would go on the offensive and would pursue a three pronged advance across the island , with the main effort being an advance in the southern sector along the narrow coastal plain towards the Japanese stronghold at Buin . Initially , the 7th Brigade , to which the battalion was attached , was employed in the northern sector holding positions along the Numa Numa trail , however , in January 1945 they took over from the 29th Brigade which had been operating in the southern sector and from then until March , the 61st Battalion took part in the advance inland from the Jaba River through Mosina , Sisirua , and Mosigetta towards the Puriata River . Advancing in bounds , occupying company bases and sending out patrols , the battalion began its move south on 15 January 1945 . Throughout the rest of the month , the battalion was involved in a number of relatively minor engagements with the Japanese as they carried out patrolling and ambush operations along the Australian line of advance . By the start of February they reached Mosina and after receiving intelligence that a Japanese force had been detected at Warapa , they sent out to raid their camp . Upon reaching Warapa the patrol set fire to the huts in which the Japanese force was billeted and then withdrew . Later reconnaissance determined that 15 Japanese had died in the blaze . By 12 February the battalion married up with patrols from the 25th Battalion that were moving along the Tavera River and then later , as the battalion continued on towards Mosigetta , one company linked up with patrols from the 9th Battalion on 17 February . Following this , the Japanese forces around Mosigetta withdrew and the 61st Battalion , after establishing its headquarters at Mosigetta , continued its advance alongside the 25th Battalion . After the 25th Battalion crossed the Puriata , a patrol from the 61st strove for the Hari where they clashed with a group of between 15 and 20 Japanese holding an entrenched position . Upon establishing contact , the patrol ' s artillery forward observation officer called down indirect fire from the supporting artillery battery and as the patrol assaulted the position , the Japanese defenders withdrew , leaving six of their dead behind . The position was subsequently revealed to consist of four main pits and 20 other smaller ones . After this engagement the battalion was withdrawn from the line for a brief period due to concerns about its morale while the rest of the 7th Brigade continued the advance along the Buin road throughout February and into March . Throughout March Japanese resistance steadily increased and during this time a number of attacks were made on the Australian rear areas and line of communications . As a result the 61st Battalion was re - committed to the advance , with a company being allocated to defend the 25th Battalion ' s rear echelon along the Buin Road near a feature named " Slater ' s Knoll " . As the Japanese launched a counteroffensive designed to check the Australian advance , the 61st Battalion ' s main engagement came between 29 March and 5 April when they took part in the Battle of Slater ' s Knoll . On 30 March the battalion ' s ' A ' Company was attacked six times by a Japanese force of about 300 men . This attack was repulsed for the loss of two Australians killed and two wounded . At dawn the following morning , ' A ' Company attempted to clear the Japanese from the track that led back to Slater ' s Knoll , however , coming up against an entrenched force of about 70 Japanese , they were forced to abandon the attempt after exchanging fire for 45 minutes . Over the course of the next week , the Japanese launched a number of attacks on the Australians around Slater ' s Knoll , during which time they suffered an estimated 620 men killed and over 1 , 000 wounded . The main Japanese attacks , however , were concentrated on the 25th Battalion and for the majority of the battle the 61st took part in defensive operations on the periphery of the 25th ' s position to protect their rear and to provide close infantry support to the Matilda tank s of the 2 / 4th Armoured Regiment . During this time , the 61st Battalion was involved in a number of " minor contacts " . The incidents of disease and casualties , coupled with combat fatigue and poor leadership resulted in a poor state of morale in the battalion in this period . On 9 April , the 7th Brigade commander , Brigadier John Field , relieved the 61st Battalion ' s commanding officer , Lieutenant Colonel Walter Dexter , who had been suffering from arthritis , of his command . Major William Fry , formerly of the 9th Battalion , was given the task of temporarily commanding the battalion until Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Farrell could take over the following month . As problems with men refusing to go on patrol and lax performance of duty continued throughout early April , the 61st Battalion remained in the role of rear area security for the remainder of the 7th Brigade ' s involvement in the sector . On 15 April , following the conclusion of the fighting around Slater ' s Knoll , the 7th Brigade was relieved by the 29th and they returned to Torokina where they remained until the end of the war . Over the course of the campaign , the 61st Battalion lost 48 men killed or wounded . Disbandment . Following the end of hostilities the 61st Battalion took part in the surrender ceremony that took place at Torokina . Later , as they were waiting for repatriation back to Australia , the battalion was employed guarding Japanese prisoners of war . In November orders arrived for the battalion to return to Australia and after embarking on the " Westralia " , they landed at Cairns on 19 November 1945 , and moved back to Brisbane by train . As the battalion ' s strength dwindled as a result of the demobilisation process and men returned to civilian life , the decision was made to disband the unit . This occurred on 8 January 1946 at Victoria Barracks , Brisbane . Casualties throughout the war consisted of 48 killed or died on active service and a further 56 wounded . Members of the battalion received the following decorations : two Distinguished Service Order s , three Military Cross es , eight Military Medal s and 17 Mentioned in Despatches . Alliances . The 61st Battalion held the following alliances : Battle honours . For their service during the Second World War , the 61st Battalion received five battle honour s : Commanding officers . The 61st Battalion ' s commanding officers between 1938 and 1945 were :