AUSTRALASIAN & PACIFIC HISTORY: SECOND WORLD WAR. AUSTRALIAN. Western Australians have always felt isolated from the rest of their country, but never as much as they felt in the first few months of 1942. Although the Japanese did not reach this far south, Defending Fremantle outlines the defence of the port against the very real threat from sea, air and land attack during the Second World War with a chapter covering the defences of the secondary ports of Albany and Bunbury. To defend this base, up to 10,000 Australian servicemen and women manned 29 coast defence guns, up to 50 heavy and 100 light AA guns as well as over 120 searchlights from almost 80 sites around the Perth/Fremantle area. Few of these sites remain intact but Defending Fremantle outlines their role as part of the overall Australian war effort.