Information

Camp Freeman (on the corner of Freeman Road and Rosemary Street) was a major camp (of 1,000-2,000 men) for African-American troops based in Brisbane. It was built on land owned by Robert Raph, who was paid rental for the property, based on alternate agistement for his nine horses at the rate of one shilling and ninepence per head per week. The camp contained kitchens, mess halls, ablution blocks and stores. Sleeping quarters remained as a sea of tents in the scrub. The US Army reported that ‘Facilities were excellent, electricity in all buildings and tents, wash racks for vehicles, maintenance shop with four stalls and adequate recreational facilities…’ The May 1944 ‘Brisbane Military Telephone Directory’ listed numbers at Camp Freeman for – Commanding Officer; Dispatcher; Dispensary; Officer’s Club. African-American troops were largely limited to Quartermaster and Transport Regiments. Camp Freeman battalions probably delivered munitions to and from the nearby Darra Ordnance Depot.

Once the Americans moved out, Secret Intelligence Australia (SIA) used Camp Freeman. After the war, all the buildings were cleared by auction and in 1950 the Housing Commission acquired the (Raph) land for the Serviceton (Inala) project.

Citations

Queensland Government, Queensland World War II Historic Places, ‘Camp Freeman” (www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/places/?id=782), sighted 1 August 2017; Vicki Mynott, ‘Wacol, Wolston, Woogaroo (1823-2014), Vol 1’, Inala Heights: Richlands, Inala and Suburbs History Group Inc., 2014.

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