Final defeat looms for WWII heroes as Darwin Z Special Unit commando camp site faces demolition to make way for commerce

The Darwin site of a WWII camp for a commando unit seen as the forerunner to the modern day SAS is in imminent danger of being demolished to make way for industry. The camp site of Z Special Unit — an elite special operations commando unit — is under threat because of the $110 million Marine Supply Base which opened on August 19 and is set for further expansion in the East Arm land area of Darwin Harbour. A bid to have the site protected by heritage listing could come too late, with a large swathe cut through the site for a drain and plans to develop the entire area. A heritage application to protect a nearby WWII RAAF base was refused — and that will soon be demolished.

Formed in 1942, Z Special Unit was a commando squad trained in covert skills such as silent killing, poisons, swimming undetected, plastic explosives and sabotage. Consisting mainly of Australian, British, Dutch and New Zealand members, but also — notable in a time ruled by the White Australia policy — it recruited fighters of Timorese and Indonesian heritage. It is credited by the Australian Army as the basis for the modern Special Air Services Regiment (SAS) reports abc.net.au

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/final-defeat-looms-wwii-heroes-darwin-z-special-unit-commando-camp-site-faces-demolition-make-way-commerce.html

I remember it didge. most people who would care are dead now.

nicko wrote:I remember it didge. most people who would care are dead now.

Seems very wrong to me Nicko, that they should do this, as they should preserve it to honour them.

  'Z Force' was disbanded at the end of WWII, but it (and, along with the Parachute squadron from WWII..) did leave another "legacy" behind in Army Reserve Commando units based in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and a more recently formed regulars Commando squadron based in Sydney...

THE Aussie SAS [formed in the 1950s..] is based in Perth ~ well over a thousand miles from Darwin; (so boys - how far is Berlin from London, these days ?).

Whether the site  of the original 'Z Force' base should be saved as a memorial is a matter for the Darwin City Council and the Federal government's administrative body that looks after war memorials and monuments ~ it really doesn't have anything to do with some bunch of whinging nosy Pommy poofters complaining on an American-based "war history online" website..

(IF nicko remembers well the existence of the "Z Force" unit ~ disbanded more than 60 years ago ~ then I reckon he must be well into his 80s by now !!!  

THERE was a 'fictionalised' TV show made about the original Aussie commando unit back in the late 1960s or early '70s, that still crops up occasionally on early morning television (like around 1 or 3 am) where I can still occasionally record it at the end of other late time programmes.
AND a 1982 movie "Attack Force Z" that portrays one of their exploits..
In addition, there have been several documentaries and books about 'Z Force' over the years ~ so Australia as a whole won't be forgetting them in a hurry..      

Here's the (American = note the "zee" instead of "zed" in the voiceover !) movie trailer for the 1982 movie:

I always wondered, if you say "zed" instead of "zee," do you say "ved" instead of "vee" too, so that the alphabet song rhymes at the end?

Hey mr wolf, I said I remember the buildings not the actual members.

Interesting detail, Bee. Ties some things together.