Australia's Dominion status made its government responsible for local defenses even while Britain supplied weapons and wider imperial support. Perth received substantial 9.2-inch coastal batteries, but Darwin entered the Pacific War with far less protection. Britain was genuinely overstretched and could not meet every promise after war began. Postwar politics nevertheless encouraged a simpler abandonment narrative that displaced Australian responsibility and avoided a domestic crisis of confidence.
Notable Point · 4:24:42-4:27:14
Darwin's weak defenses and Dominion responsibility
Darwin's vulnerability reflected Australia's local-defense obligations as well as British overstretch, later simplified into an abandonment narrative.