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Eleven items documenting the operational arc of one of Australia's most decorated divisions, from North Africa to New Guinea, through maps and a rare internal field report.

This compact archive traces the journey of the 9th Australian Division through three pivotal phases of the Second World War: its stand at Tobruk in 1941, its jungle warfare retraining in Queensland in 1943, and its assault on the Huon Peninsula, New Guinea later that year. Comprising ten printed maps and one field report, the collection reflects the essential role of military cartography and field intelligence in planning and executing operations across radically different environments.

The earliest item is a contemporary photocopy of a “Secret” after-action report by the 2/23rd Infantry Battalion (26th Brigade, 9th Division), recording a close-quarters engagement near Post S9 during the siege of Tobruk on 17 May 1941. The document preserves the practical language and operational detail of a unit on the perimeter, identifying enemy shelling, coordination with neighboring units, and terrain obstacles such as sandbags and anti-tank ditches. The 2/23rd Battalion went on to fight with distinction across North Africa before returning to Australia in early 1943.

A large-scale map of Cairns (1:63,360), compiled in August and printed in September 1942 (Reprinted January 1944) by the 2/1 Australian Army Topographical Survey Company, captures the Queensland port as it had been transformed into a logistics and training hub. The map documents road and rail links vital to the buildup of Commonwealth forces in Far North Queensland, particularly those preparing for deployment to New Guinea.

The core of the archive consists of eight 1:25,000 topographic sheets produced during the Huon Peninsula campaign: Satelberg, Kalasa, Langemak Bay, Walingai, Fortification Point, Mape River, Mesaweng River West, and Markham River. All are second-edition maps compiled from aerial reconnaissance by RAAF and USAAF missions and printed by the 2/1 Survey Company in late 1943. These sheets show a remarkable level of tactical detail, including ten-meter contour intervals, village trails, plantation limits, and overprinted warnings about mismatched coordinate systems. The Satelberg sheet records the ridgeline taken by the 2/23rd Battalion on 25 November 1943, one of the decisive actions of the campaign and later commemorated with a formal battle honour.

Two photographic mosaics, “Photomap 0304 Lae” and “Photomap 0307 Merikeo,” each at approximately 1:20,000, complete the set. Produced by the Royal Australian Survey Corps using vertical-strip photography from the 8th Photo Squadron of the U.S. 5th Air Force, these mosaics provided up-to-date reconnaissance in the weeks leading up to the Lae landing. Visible features include the airfields at Lae and Malahang, newly constructed coastal tracks, and tidal flats, all of which informed Allied amphibious planning and inland operations.

Together, these eleven items form a rare cartographic dossier of the 9th Division’s experience in the war. The sequence, from siege conditions in Libya to infrastructure development in Queensland to active theater mapping in New Guinea, demonstrates both the movement of a single division across continents and the evolving capabilities of Australian military cartography in response to the demands of modern war.

Items

1. Cairns, 1:63,360
2. Photomap—Lae
3. Photomap—Merikeo
4. Satelberg, 1:25,000
5. Kalasa, 1:25,000
6. Langemak Bay, 1:25,000
7. Walingai, 1:25,000
8. Mesaweng River West, 1:25,000
9. Mape River, 1:25,000
10. Fortification Point, 1:25,000
11. (Photocopy) 2/23 EN - Report on Action Morning 17 May 41