Spread the love

grayscale photo of woman in black jacket standing beside man in white dress shirtWith 19 February marking the 80th anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin, Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours is honoured to be leading its first group since the March 2020 border closures to follow in the footsteps of our soldiers.
Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours’ inaugural 2022 group for its Bombing of Darwin tour comprises 30 passengers coming from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. The group will spend five days uncovering northern Australia’s Pacific War history, visiting key sites in and around Darwin in the company of a historian.
The tour commemorates the first-time mainland Australia came under attack by the Japanese during the Pacific War. On 19 February 1942, just after 10am in the morning, Japanese forces launched the first and largest air raid on Darwin, involving over 260 enemy aircraft bombing military bases, the town and the harbour, killing and wounding hundreds of people and destroying buildings and vessels. Over the next two years Darwin was bombed 64 times, and there were over 30 additional air attacks across northern Australia targeting Katherine, Townsville, Mossman, Horn Island, Wyndham, Port Headland and Derby.
Historian and founder of Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours, Mat McLachlan, said: “The Bombing of Darwin was the first time Australia came under fire by an enemy force. Everyone across Australia was impacted by the Pacific War, and the homefront experience was not dissimilar to what we have experienced over the past two years with shortages, lockdowns and uncertainty. We are honoured to be able to commemorate this significant anniversary with our passengers, and we want to extend a special welcome and thank you to our first touring group for the year.”
“It is incredibly important we remember and reflect on our wartime history, which in many ways shaped our country today. With over 400,000 Australians having served in The Great War – almost 40 per cent of the 1914 male population aged 18 to 44, and one million Australians having served in World War Two, many of us have relatives who fought and fell in these conflicts. Following in their footsteps on the battlegrounds is an incredibly powerful way to bring their stories to life.
“Following the reopening of borders and relaunch of our battlefield tours, we have experienced strong demand, particularly for our Pacific War tours including the Bombing of Darwin, Kokoda Trekking and Non-Trekking, our WW2 History Cruise and our new Cowra Breakout tour. Anzac Day 2022 tours to the Western Front, Gallipoli and Kokoda are also still available to book, and our 4-day Western Front Explorer has weekly departures from April to November and is a poignant addition to any Europe trip,” Mat McLachlan added.
To view Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours’ 2022 itineraries, visit www.battlefields.com.au.
Mat McLachlan himself is escorting three tours in 2022, the Mat McLachlan Western Front Signature Tour (departs 19 September from Paris, 9 Days, $5699pp twin share), Cowra Breakout with Mat McLachlan (departs 28 October from Sydney, 4 Days, $1599pp twin share), and
the Papua New Guinea WW2 History Cruise (round-trip from Brisbane, 11 Days, from $1999pp twin share).
Additional highlight tours include:
Anzac Day 2022 commemoration tours
Anzac Day on the Western Front Departs Paris 18 April, 10 Days, $4999pp twin share
Anzac Day at Gallipoli Departs Istanbul 18 April, 9 Days, $2999pp twin share
Anzac Day at Kokoda Non-Trekking, Papua New Guinea Departs Port Moresby 18 April, 9 Days $3850pp twin share
Anzac Day at Kokoda Trekking, Papua New Guinea Departs Port Moresby 15 April, 12 Days, $3850pp twin share
Western Front
4-day Western Front Explorer 28 weekly departures April to November from Paris, 4 Days, $2099pp twin share
Gallipoli
Gallipoli Discovery Tour Departs 10 September from Istanbul, 9 Days, $2999pp twin share
Gallipoli Private Tour Departs daily from Istanbul, 2 or 3 Days, from $1099pp twin share
Vietnam
Vietnam Long Tan Private Tour Departs daily from Saigon, 3 Days, $789pp twin share
WWII in the Pacific
Trek Kokoda 13 departures February to November from Port Moresby, 11 Days, $3850pp twin share
Kokoda without Trekking 80th Anniversary Departs 31 October, 8 Days, $3850pp twin share
Papua New Guinea WW2 History Cruise Departs 16 November from Brisbane, 11 Days, from $1999pp twin share
(The Bombing of Darwin 2023 Anniversary Tour will soon be available for booking)
WWII in Europe Value Tours
25+ tours departing year-round, starting from $700pp twin share, view https://battlefields.com.au/value-tours/
All Value Tours depart from London (round trip) and start from $700pp, twin share
All tour prices listed are per person, twin share. Single supplements apply. All bookings require a 30% deposit and are subject to Terms & Conditions.
For more information, to view detailed tour itineraries and to book visit www.battlefields.com.au, or contact our team by email: info@battlefields.com.au or phone 1300 880 340.
To follow in the footsteps of the Anzacs from home, connect with Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours on Facebook @BattlefieldTours, tune into the BattleWalks podcast (available on all streaming platforms), or follow Mat McLachlan’s Living History YouTube channel.