CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

36th Battalion (Australia)

Australian Army infantry battalion

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionNov 5, 2025
Entity authorityQ4635732 ↗
Source-derived summary

The 36th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1916 as part of the First Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Throughout World War I the battalion served on the Western Front as part of the 9th Brigade, attached to the 3rd Division. Due to heavy casualties amongst the AIF and a decrease in the number of replacements arriving from Australia in 1918, the battalion was disbanded before the war ended in order to reinforce other units in France. The 36th Battalion was re-raised in 1921 as part of the Militia based in Sydney. During World War II the battalion was attached to the 14th Brigade and was initially used in a defensive role as a garrison unit in Australia before being sent to New Guinea in 1942. The 36th Battalion spent most of the 1942–45 period overseas in New Guinea and New Britain where they undertook operations against the Japanese. In June 1945 they were returned to Australia and shortly afterwards the battalion was disbanded.

History

World War I

The 36th Battalion was raised at Broadmeadow Camp, in Newcastle, New South Wales, in February 1916 as part of an expansion of the First Australian Imperial Force, which occurred after the Gallipoli Campaign. The bulk of the battalion's recruits came from New South Wales rifle clubs and along with the 33rd, 34th and 35th Battalions, it formed the 9th Brigade, attached to the 3rd Division. The battalion left Sydney shortly on 13 May 1916, bound for the United Kingdom.

Editorial summary

“36th Battalion (Australia)” enters the record as australian Army infantry battalion. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what 36th, Battalion and Australia can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1916, 1918, 1921, 1942—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1916-01-01. Its strongest next move is a source search built around 36th, Battalion and Australia.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“36th Battalion (Australia)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, 36th, Battalion and Australia provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q4635732. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1916, 1918, 1921 and 1942.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “36th Battalion (Australia)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow 36th Battalion (Australia) primary sources, 36th Battalion (Australia) archive and 36th research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “36th Battalion (Australia)”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “36th Battalion (Australia)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.