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That would be the MV Duntroon.

At the start of World War II, Duntroon was requisitioned for conversion into an armed merchant cruiser, but was returned as unsuitable. In November 1940, Duntroon collided with and sank the auxiliary minesweeper HMAS Goorangai; the RAN's first loss of the war. In February 1942, Duntroon was requisitioned by the Australian Army for use as a troopship. The ship was involved in a second fatal collision in November 1943, sinking the destroyer USS Perkins. Her army service continued until 1946, when she was chartered by the RAN for transport duties with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.
 
This one should be quite easy with google.

Who was the only Australian casualty on the mainland East Australian Coast during WW2 and under what circumstances did it happen.
 
My research shows it was a Coconut tree

The only casualty of the three air-raids on Townsville was a coconut tree when a bomb from the 3rd raid hit Oonoonba. The Oonoonba Bombing Memorial was dedicated near the site of impact to commemorate the 50th anniversary in 1992.
 
goldtruck59 said:
My research shows it was a Coconut tree

The only casualty of the three air-raids on Townsville was a coconut tree when a bomb from the 3rd raid hit Oonoonba. The Oonoonba Bombing Memorial was dedicated near the site of impact to commemorate the 50th anniversary in 1992.

Getting very warm but still no cigar. ;)
 
Carnel Zullo, a 2 1/2 year old was hit in the skull by bomb shrapnel. This resulted from a Japanese "Emily" flying boat dropping its load of bombs on a farm near Mossman, possibly offloading them due to engine troubles.
 
Well done Goldpick. I asked my wife the question before I posted it and she knew it off the top of her head. The fact that we lived around the corner from the Miallo property for 7 years probably helped her.

Miallo-Bamboo Creek Road, Miallo 4837

This memorial was unveiled by Carmel Emmi (ne Zuilo) on the fiftieth anniversary of an attack on 31 July 1942 by a lone Japanese aircraft, which dropped a total of eight bombs over the Mossman area. One exploded in a cane field about 50 metres behind the site of the memorial, causing damage to the Zuilo family farmhouse and injuring two-year-old Carmel. This was the last of four Japanese bombing raids on the Queensland mainland. The Zuilo house has since been demolished.

History
During the night of 26 July 1942, three Japanese long range Kawanishi H8K (Emily) flying boats, flying direct from Rabaul to Townsville, dropped a total of six bombs which exploded harmlessly in the sea near the wharves. Night raids on Townsville were repeated in the early mornings of 28 and 29 July, on each subsequent occasion by a single Emily flying boat operating from Rabaul. The raids were carried out by the 2nd Group of 14th Kokutai (Air Group), Japanese Naval Air Force, under the command of Major Misaburo Koizumi, who planned to undertake night raids on harbour facilities and airfields at Townsville. In all, five raids were planned; three actually occurred.

A fourth Japanese raid was planned for Townsville on the night of 31 July, however the lone Emily flying boat may have experienced engine difficulties and decided to drop its load of eight bombs over the Mossman area. One bomb exploded in a farm at Miallo, north of Mossman, damaging the Zuilo family's house and injuring Carmel Zuilo. Although the attack marked the end of Japanese raids on the Queensland mainland, raids on Horn Island in the Torres Strait continued until June 1943. Japanese raids in the Darwin and Kimberley region continued until November 1943.

There is a plaque located on the memorial with the inscription:

JAPANESE AIR RAID ON DOUGLAS SHIRE - 1942

At 3.30 a.m. on 31/7/42, a Japanese aircraft dropped eight bombs in this Shire, one landing fifty metres directly behind this point.

Carmel Zullo aged 2 1/2 years was asleep in the home of her parents when the bomb exploded nearby. Shrapnel pierced the iron walls of the house, one fragment grazing Carmel's skull. She was the only civilian casualty inflicted by the enemy on the Eastern Australian mainland throughout World War 2. This plaque was unveiled by Mrs. Carmel Emmi (nee Zullo) on 31/7/92 at a public ceremony to commemorate the attack, fifty years later.
 
121,324 of these were sent to ww1 battlefields, and only one ever returned to Australia. Why did only one come back, what is my name, and who did it belong to?
 
They were horses and the only one to be brought home was Sandy, belonging to Major General Sir William Bridges. I think the reason was quarantine restrictions.
 

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