The Brisbane Line

On 16 March 1943, General Douglas MacArthur held an "off-the-record" talk to the Press from 12:15pm to 2:15pm at his General Headquarters Southwest Pacific Area (GHQ SWPA) in the AMP building on the corner of Queen Street and Edward Street, Brisbane.

General MacArthur caused quite a flurry of interest from the press members present when he mentioned the infamous "Brisbane Line". It was reported in the Brisbane "Courier Mail" on 17 March 1943 that MacArthur had indicated that the Brisbane Line ran from Perth to Brisbane. When further questioned by the Press on his statement he then distanced himself from his earlier statement. Many years later General Douglas MacArthur stated in his reminisces that the Australian General Staff planned to defend Australia on a line of defence that followed the Darling River from Brisbane to Adelaide.

I have just updated my web page on the "Brisbane Line".