Green Street bunker facts for kids
The Green Street bunker is a super strong building in West End, Townsville, Australia. It's also known as the Sidney Street bunker or Project 81. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) built it during World War II.
Work on the bunker started around March 1942. The road up Castle Hill was even closed to keep the construction a secret! It took about 12 weeks to build. This bunker was so modern, it even had air conditioning during the war.
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What Was Project 81?
Project 81 was a secret military site with 17 different buildings. These buildings helped the bunker run smoothly.
Some of the important buildings included:
- Guard Rooms (1 and 10)
- Living areas for airmen and WAAAF (Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force)
- A Canteen for food and drinks
- Offices for general work
- Latrines (toilets)
- Storage sheds
- An Air Conditioning Plant (building 12)
- A special room for operations and offices (building 13)
- A Photographic Intelligence Section (building 14)
- A small shooting range (building 17)
The main bunker building was very strong. It was 120 feet long and 60 feet wide. Its walls and roof were incredibly thick. People believed it could survive a direct bomb hit with little damage.
Inside the Bunker
The rooms inside the bunker had special jobs:
- Emergency Power Plant
- Intelligence Officer's room
- Meteorological Officer's room (for weather)
- Meteorological Room (for weather data)
- Navigation Officer's room
- Crew Room
- Operations Room (where missions were planned)
- Cypher Room (for secret codes)
- Signals Office (for communications)
- Receiving Room
- Signals Officer's room
- Men's Lavatory
- Telephone Exchange
- Strong Room (for important items)
Two other rooms, separated by a walkway, were the Fan Room and the Condenser Room. These were likely part of the air conditioning system.
How Was It Built?
Building the Green Street bunker was a huge task. Workers used 600 cubic yards of concrete. They also used 50 tons of strong steel bars. These materials made the bunker incredibly tough.
Clever Camouflage
To hide the bunker from enemy planes, it was camouflaged. Four wooden buildings were placed nearby. One building was even built right on top of the bunker's roof! This made the bunker look like a normal house from above. Camouflage netting was also likely attached to the roof.
The bunker had its own large electricity generator. This meant it could power itself. A smaller building next to the generator room housed the air conditioning plant. You had to walk down stairs to enter this cool room.
Stories from the Past
People who worked during the war sometimes shared stories. Helen Ena Suttie, a WAAAF member, worked in Townsville. Sometimes, she was driven to a secret place, which might have been the Green Street bunker.
There were many rumors about secret tunnels in Castle Hill. Some people thought there was a tunnel entrance inside the bunker's floor. In 1985, a part of the bunker's floor was even dug up to search for this rumored tunnel, but nothing was found.
In the early 1960s, the bunker was used as a workshop. This was for the 10 Squadron Radio Section. A new building was being built at the Garbutt Base at the time. A Senior Radio Officer and his family even lived in the house on top of the bunker during this period!
The Bunker Today
The Townsville City Council bought the Green Street bunker in 2001. They paid $50,000 for it. In 2001, the councils of Townsville and Thuringowa planned to spend $839,000 to upgrade the old bunker.
This upgrade included fixing the leaky roof. They also renovated the inside and outside. New paint, carports, and a new generator were installed. This was a joint effort to help with disaster preparedness. The Townsville Amateur Radio Club has used the upstairs section of the bunker for many years.
Other Nearby Buildings
The government also rented other buildings nearby. Some at 63 Stagpole Street might have been for non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Buildings at 35 and 33 Stagpole Street were possibly used as officers' quarters and a mess hall.
Another bunker, very similar to the Green Street one, was built at Ramsay Street in Garbutt. This one had an extra strong wall to protect it from bombs. It was used as an Operations and Signals Building.
 | Selma Burke |
 | Pauline Powell Burns |
 | Frederick J. Brown |
 | Robert Blackburn |
