 During the war the Labor governments of John Willcock and Frank Wise actively promoted industrial growth in the industrial areas of Midland and Welshpool, and was effective in mobilising the population to support the war effort.In addition port facilities in Fremantle and the air transport facilities in Perth were expanded to cope with wartime needs.To balance these developments the attacks of the Imperial Japanese Forces on the north of Western Australia caused much of the existing economic infrastructure of towns like Wyndham, Derby and Port Hedland to be destroyed.