"NYRAMBLA", 21 HENRY STREET,
ASCOT, BRISBANE, QLD,
COMMANDEERED BY THE MILITARY DURING WWII
"Nyrambla" 21 Henry
Street in its early days
Note the verandahs are not enclosed
Photo taken from Yabba Street side
"Nyrambla" 21 Henry
Street, Ascot
Photo taken from Henry Street side
A large two story house located at 21 Henry Street, Ascot in Brisbane was probably acquired by Hirings Section, No. 1 Lines of Communication (No. 1 L of C), Australian Army.
The house at 21 Henry Street was used by:-
- Central Bureau (Gen. MacArthur's own signals intelligence unit)
- No. 1 Wireless Unit trained by AIB
- No. 11 Australian Cypher Section, Royal Australian Corps of Signals
Central Bureau had banks of IBM Tabulators, the forerunner of computers, which were used by the cryptanalysts to sort and strip away ciphers which concealed the original text. They were located in the garage at the rear of 21 Henry Street. The IBM machines were later moved from the garage to the Fire Station at 83 Kitchener Road in Ascot Park. The garage was then occupied by No. 11 Australian Cypher Section. The garage was filled with Typex machines which were operated by some Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) personnel.
Central
Bureau re-union at 21 Henry Street on 1 May 1988
Organised by Central Bureau
Intelligence Corps Association
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"Nyrambla" 21 Henry Street in its early days |
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"Nyrambla" 21 Henry Street, Ascot |
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The large house at 21 Henry Street, Ascot, Brisbane |
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The wrought iron work on what is now the front of the house facing Henry Street |
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Rear view of 21 Henry Street, Ascot |
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The front entrance of 21 Henry Street. The front door is actually located in the side yard off the driveway. The house was originally on a large 15 acre property which fronted on to Yabba Street. |
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The front entrance of 21 Henry Street. |
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The front door of 21 Henry Street taken from inside the house |
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Looking into the entrance after passing through the front door |
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One of the two signs in the entrance area of 21 Henry Street. The sign covers Central Bureau's presence in "Nyrambla" |
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The other sign covering the presence of No. 11 Australian Cypher Section, Royal Australian Corps of Signals |
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The famous garage at 21 Henry Street |
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The garage at 21 Henry Street |
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Insulators and point of attachments for cables on the roof of the garage |
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Inside the garage |
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The Brisbane River side of the garage |
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The other side of the garage |
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Another view of the garage |
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There was apparently a semi underground bomb shelter in the back yard. The lower half of this building is now used as a support wall for the area around the swimming pool |
The 837th Signal Service Detachment returned to Camp Ascot. To avoid camp conditions, 8 SIS men rented a house at 45 Eldernell Street, Hamilton and furnished it with G.I. cots, a dining room suite and a housekeeper. When conditions became crowded at “Nyrambla”, the RAAF women from the Womens' Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) were billeted nearby at a house at 26 Henry Street. After SIS left for Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea in late 1944, the Eldernell Street house was leased by RAAF No.3 Base Supply Depot members.
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© Peter Dunn 2015 |
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This page first produced 29 June 2002
This page last updated 28 June 2022
