About This Unit
3rd Infantry Battalion AMF
After the First World War the defence of the Australian mainland lay with the part-time soldiers of the Citizens Military Force, also known as the Militia. The Militia was organized to maintain the structure of the First AIF and kept the same numerical designations. The Militia units were distributed in the same areas the original AIF units were raised. Following this tradition the 3rd Infantry Battalion was the "Werriwa Regiment". Raised in 1921, with men from western Sydney, the 3rd was merged with the 4th Infantry Battalion to form the 4/3rd Infantry Battalion in 1930. In 1937 the 4/3rd was separated and the 3rd merged with Sydney's 53rd Infantry Battalion, forming the 53rd/3rd Infantry Battalion. However, the merger did not last long and by August 1937 the 3rd returned to its own identity. By 1937 the battalion was based around the Goulburn area, as part of the 14th Brigade with the 55th Infantry Battalion.
Before the Second World War the 3rd held occasional camps and paraded in the evenings. In 1942 with the start of the war in the Pacific the battalion was mobilised for full-time service and brought up to strength with national service recruits. These men came from the Southern Highlands, Canberra, the South Coast, and from other towns as far south as Delegate, on the Victorian border. In January 1942 the 3rd went into camp at Greta, west of Maitland, before moving to defensive positions along the coast near Newcastle in New South Wales in March. At the start of May the battalion returned to Greta, where it was told they would be on the move and, after only a few days leave, moved to Port Moresby at the end of the month. While the 3rd settled into garrison duties in Moresby, the Japanese were moving to Papua.