Northern exposure
A band of Norforce soldiers has trekked through the wilds of Katherine to celebrate their unit’s birthday and to remember their predecessors. Cpl Mike McSweeney reports on how this small horse-mounted patrol took on the big Top End.
Volume 11, No. 48, July 27, 2006

Leap of faith: Pte Richard Kopp, Darwin Sqn, puts his horse through the obstacle course at Katherine Rural College. Photo by Cpl Crissy Williamsh

Mates: Pte Richard Kopp prepares his horse for the day’s patrolling. Photo by Cpl Patrina Maloneh

Map to ground: Pte Peter West from Darwin Sqn checks his bearings. Photo by Cpl Crissy Williams

Map to ground: Patrol Commander Lt Nick Cormadias, right, talks with Pte Richard Kopp. Photo by Cpl Crissy Williams.

IT WAS World War II and Darwin was under the threat of invasion from the Japanese. One unit was tasked to watch the coast for invaders, and if they came, to stay behind enemy lines and report back.

The unit was officially labelled the 2/1 North Australia Observer Unit, but to the soldiers they were simply the Nackeroos, and although their secret patrols through the unforgiving bush of Australia’s Top End are unfamiliar to most Australians, they are legendary to the soldiers of Norforce.

The modern-day patrollers from Norforce have strong historical links to the Nackeroos and, as part of Norforce’s 25th birthday celebrations, a Nackeroo re-enactment patrol of six horse-mounted soldiers trekked through the rough Katherine scrub last month as a tribute to their forerunners.

Op Spt Sqn Orderly Room Clerk LCpl Mandy Hunt was the driving force behind the venture. A self-confessed horse fanatic LCpl Hunt said the re-enactment patrol was the realisation of a dream and months of preparation.

“I just absolutely loved it, but those guys did it an awful lot harder than what we did,” she said.

“Half the time they didn’t have rations. They’d just go and shoot their own food.”

LCpl Hunt said the Nackeroos also lacked the things that today’s soldiers almost take for granted, such as insect repellent.

“They didn’t have things like Aeroguard,” she said. “You could imagine being up here in the wet season. Being out on the sand flats with nothing – it would be revolting. They did it really hard.”

LCpl Hunt first learnt of the Nackeroos when she was posted to Norforce, and saw an opportunity to re-enact a Nackeroo patrol during Norforce’s anniversary celebrations.

One key element for the patrol was obtaining the horses needed. Katherine Rural College was instrumental in supplying the team eight horses and associated equipment.

“They were really generous,” LCpl Hunt said. “They also let us use their facilities and we went down there for about five days before the patrol to train.”

The six-person patrol, including three indigenous soldiers, rode for five days, covering 120km across Manbulloo station in Katherine, where 2/1NAOU once had its headquarters.

Their route, which took them both cross-country and along bush tracks, was considered to be safer than traditional patrol routes, however two horses were kept as spares in case any fell victim to the northern terrain.

While the trek was tough, the soldiers still had time to appreciate the splendour of the Australian countryside. “Up here this time of year it was just stunning,” LCpl Hunt said. “The wildlife was just phenomenal.”

The patrol arrived in time for a parade through Darwin on June 25. At the parade’s conclusion at Larrakeyah Barracks there was a naming ceremony for the Norforce museum and the unit’s watercraft. There was also the chance for the patrol to meet former 2/1NAOU soldiers who had attended the celebrations.

“They were full of information and they just loved to get in amongst it and tell their stories to people,” LCpl Hunt. “They were awesome guys.”