Nui Dat (Núi Đất) is the former military base of the

1st Australian Task Force The 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was a brigade-sized formation which commanded Australian Army, Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based in a rubber plantation at Nui Dat, north ...

(1 ATF) now part of Ba Ria city in Ba Ria–Vung Tau province,

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It is not the name of an official ward, it just means "land hill" or "soil hill" ( núi đất).

History

1966–1972

In 1966, when the area was part of the then Phước Tuy Province it was the location of the 1 ATF military base in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The site was chosen by Lieutenant General John Wilton in 1966 and was built mainly by men from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. The occupation of Nui Dat in Operation Hardihood required the removal of all inhabitants from within a radius of the base in order to ensure the security of the facility. Ultimately this policy—which was an unusual step among allied bases in Vietnam—required the resettlement of the villages of Long Hải, with a population of 1000, and Long Phuoc, with a population of 3000. Both villages were subsequently destroyed and the villagers rehomed in brand new and improved villages built by Australian engineers; a task which was complete by July 1966. From 1966 until 1972 the Australians and New Zealanders of the

operated out of Nui Dat providing security and protection for the villages of Phước Tuy, while attempting to destroy the Communist forces headquartered in the Mây Tào Mountains and other Communist strongholds in the border areas of Phước Tuy Province, Long Khánh Province and

Biên Hòa Province Biên Hòa (邊和) ( )) is a former province of South Vietnam originally formed in 1832 containing areas of Đồng Nai province, Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province and Bình Phước province with total area of over 17.000 km2. In 1876 it w ...

. The Australians and New Zealanders performed civic tasks such as building villages, improving infrastructure, and providing medical and other civil services for the locals. After the withdrawal of Australian forces in December 1972, the base was handed over to the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

(ARVN) and "stripped bare". A controversy has arisen over the so-called "Bamboo Pickers Incident". According to Australian Vietnam veteran Ben Morris, Australian soldiers killed five civilians, including two teenage girls, in October 1967 who they mistakenly thought were

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

. Many of the soldiers involved in the incident have suffered from

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

Notes

References

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External links

Nui Dat – Australian Task Force Base
– Department of Veterans Affairs (Australia) Geography of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu province Australian Army bases Massacres committed by Australia Massacres in 1967 Massacres in the Vietnam War Vietnam War military installations {{BaRiaVungTau-geo-stub Vietnam War crimes by anti-communist forces Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War