this defensive task and sent north to Caboolture and Cooroy, Queensland, where they began training for deployment to fight the Japanese in New Guinea. New Guinea The 57th/60th Battalion embarked for New Guinea in two contingents. One contingent entrained on 2 March travelling from Caboolture to Townsville to establish there a staging camp for themselves and which was subsequently used by may units deploying to the South West Pacific. This first contingent embarked from Townsville aboard the MV Duntroon on 8 March 1943, the troops disembarking on 10 March at Port Moresby, 590 nautical miles to the north (1,091 kilometres). The other contingent entrained from Caboolture for Brisbane on 9 March and embarked from Brisbane on 10 March 1943 aboard HMAS Katoomba, the troops disembarking on 16 March at Port Moresby, after a journey at sea of 1,127 nautical miles (2,087 kilometres). At this time the battalion had an authorised strength of 803 personnel and was organised into one battalion headquarters and five companies. There was one headquarters company and there were four rifle companies, designated 'A' to 'D'. Headquarters company consisted of six platoons, numbered 1 to 6, fulfilling consecutively the combat functions of signals, medium machine-gun fire support, mortar fire support, anti-tank fire support, pioneers and transport. Each of the rifle companies consisted of three platoons, numbered consecutively throughout the battalion, from 7 Platoon (of A Company) to 18 Platoon (of D Company). Attached also were elements of the 15th Field Ambulance and the 15th Field Engineers. The 15th Brigade, excluding the 57th/60th, moved north to take part in the battle around the Huon Peninsula and the Huon Gulf, specifically in the Salamaua–Lae campaign. While the rest of the 15th Brigade took part in this fighting, the 57th/60th Battalion began in early July 1943 to move to the Watut Valley to set up and conduct the defensive garrison for the Allied airbase being secretly constructed at Tsili Tsili by American airborne engineers. The base at Tsili Tsili was required to provide fighter support for bombers on long-range bombing missions. Due to the difficult terrain and demands upon aircraft availability, there were significant troop movement and engineering delays for both the 57th/60th and for the American engineers involved in occupying and commissioning the base, including the US 871st Airborne Engineer Battalion with whom the 57th/60th worked closely to establish a functioning and well-defended airbase. For example, it took seven