ABSTRACT
Charles Abbott, bitter that he had received, he claimed, a kind of justice more suited to a kangaroo court than a hearing presided over by a Supreme Court judge, was never charged and never exonerated. He remained technically the Administrator of the Northern Territory until 1946, but with no authority over Darwin or half a dozen other military towns. The passing of the years has not minimised the ignominy of what happened at Darwin on 14 February 1942 and at Broome a fortnight later. But it has allowed it to pass into the broader perspective of history. The weaknesses of so many of those who failed when they were exposed to stress seem less important today than the failure of the government to take proper care and precautions for those Australians who did not live in the comparative security of one small corner of the continent.
