The northern Australian city of Darwin on Saturday marked the 80th anniversary of a Japanese air raid that killed hundreds during World War II.
The bombing of Darwin on Feb. 19, 1942, the first attack by Japanese forces on the Australian mainland, killed at least 235 people and destroyed 30 aircraft and nine ships.
"Eighty years ago, Australia and Japan faced off across a seemingly unbreachable divide," said Lord Mayor of Darwin Kon Vatskalis on the eve of the anniversary. "But time, good sense, and an improved appreciation, of not just our differences, but our similarities have healed those old wounds."