Macarthur in Brisbane

General Douglas MacArthur occupied the AMP building offices from July 1942 to November 1944. MacArthur arrived in Brisbane with his wife and young son by his side. Brisbane saw their presence as something like a Royal tour and lined up each day to catch a glimpse of the family coming in and out of Lennons hotel.

Young Arthur MacArthur played in the grounds of the neighbouring Supreme Court. Mrs MacArthur took a role in major diplomatic events, including guiding the wife of the President of the US, Eleanor Roosevelt, during her visit to Australia. The MacArthur family and closest aides settled into Lennons hotel, Brisbane's only modern hotel building. MacArthur chose the AMP building as his command centre.

The AMP building was Brisbane’s largest office building and, like Lennon’s, the most modern in the city. While MacArthur’s daily command routines centred in this building, he found time to visit his family for lunch and to make frequent contact with civilians staffing the building. Command meant not only oversight of battles in Papua-New Guinea but also regular briefings for the Australian Government in Canberra, co-ordination with the US Government, the US Navy’s Pacific Command in Hawaii, and struggles with superiors in Washington.

In the US, as in Britain, strategists focused first on the war against Hitler, fought out in Europe and Africa. MacArthur had to take on Washington in order to get resources to defend Australia and turn back the Japanese advance. His determination in this battle won him great respect in Australia’s highest military and political circles.

As Australian and US troops won campaign victories throughout 1943-1944, MacArthur spent more time in the New Guinea war zone. His staff continued to work from the AMP building in Brisbane until shortly before MacArthur’s successful return to the Philippines in 1944.

‘This is the largest and most modern office building, and in the center of town...The offices are good-sized, the building is well run and the offices are served by a battery of three elevators...The second and third floors have air-raid blast walls in the passage-ways, and are fitted to have the tenants of the building gather in those passage-ways for protection. The building is located on the busiest intersection in the center of the town.’ Excerpt from a report by Brigadier General R.J. Marshall recommending the AMP building as the Command Post in Brisbane, 18 June 1942.