The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the Australian Military Forces. In 1980, however, the current name—Australian Army Reserve—was officially adopted, and it now consists of a number of components based around the level of commitment and training obligation that its members are required to meet.
Members of the militia in Tasmania, c. 1913
A six-inch gun at Fort Nepean in August 1914. This gun fired Australia's first shot of the war when the German merchant ship SS Pfalz attempted to escape from Port Philip Bay on 5 August 1914.
Soldiers of the CMF 56th Battalion in 1937
Militia soldiers of the 39th Battalion following their relief at Kokoda in September 1942
South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the Dutch East Indies, East Timor, Australia, the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, and the western part of the Solomon Islands. It primarily consisted of United States and Australian forces, although Dutch, Filipino, British, and other Allied forces also served in the SWPA.
General Douglas MacArthur and Australian Prime Minister John Curtin.
Command Organization, Southwest Pacific Area, July 1943
Royal Australian Air Force chief, Air Vice Marshal George Jones (left) meeting the Allied air forces commander in the SWPA, Lieutenant General George Kenney (right) in mid-1945, in Manila.
Allied Naval Forces SWPA, commander Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (centre left) with MacArthur (centre) on 28 February 1944 on USS Phoenix during the bombardment of Los Negros Island, at the commencement of the Admiralty Islands campaign.