Page 23 - Living Gems Thrive | April 2023

Camp Cable , State Library of Queensland
from 1963 and he was there when the nation became
the independent state we know today as Malaysia. Just
three years earlier, Commonwealth forces supported
the Malay government to battle Communist insurgents.
“I was in the 3rd Battalion RAR and we conducted
patrols on the Thai border and saw a little bit of action in
Sarawak because Indonesia didn’t support that region
in Borneo becoming part of Malaysia,” he said.
The latter part of John’s army career saw him stationed
at the Land Warfare Centre at Canungra which took
him past the Logan Village Hotel.
“I’d carpool with a couple of other fellows, and we’d stop
there for a round of beers on the way home from work,”
he said.
Tony Aitken, The Royal Australian Navy (1968-1978)
Growing up in the La Trobe Valley in Victoria, there was
only one real employer in town and that was at the local
power plant, but Tony wanted to do something different.
“I was a country boy, but ended up joining the Navy,”
he said.
Tony served on a number of different ships including
the frigate HMAS Diamantina which is now on display to
the public at the drydock at Brisbane’s Southbank.
“She saw a bit of action in her time during the Second
World War, but I didn’t,” he said. “By the time I served,
she was a naval research vessel based in Fremantle.”
Tony enjoyed his time in the navy but notes with a little
irony that after his time at sea, he ended up working for
the State Electricity Commision of Victoria where his
mates, who joined straight out of school, became his
bosses.
“But they didn’t get to see or do the things that I did,”
he said.
livinggems.com.au
About Camp Cable
Logan Village, known for its tranquil
bushland setting, has a population of less
than 5000 people today, but it was once
home to more than 20,000.
In 1941, Australia had already been at war
for two years, and with Britain facing an
existential threat on its shores, little support
could be expected from the mother country
to defend our nation.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbour on
7 December 1941, Australia called on the
US for help and the first American troops
arrived in Brisbane three days before
Christmas.
Initially based in Adelaide, the 32nd
US Infantry Division was transported
to Queensland in Liberty-class cargo
ships. While enroute, one of the ships was
torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.
Sergeant Gerald O Cable from the 126th
Infantry was killed and the new camp at
Logan Village was named in his honour.
Camp Cable was huge, encompassing
roughly 30 square kilometres between
Quinzeh Creek Road at Logan Village and
Plunkett Road in Tamborine Village. At the
southern end of the camp was the 155th
Station Hospital.
A memorial to Camp Cable can be found at
the Logan Village RSL, located next door to
Opal by Living Gems.
April 2023 23