 At Winnellie, the regiment joined the 23rd Infantry Brigade, which was the only part of the 8th Division that remained in Australia at that time; the other two brigades had already been deployed to Malaya where they were undertaking garrison duties.As such, it was believed that the regiment would soon be deployed and the arrival in Darwin was initially treated as a period of acclimatisation.Later, as war with Japan became likely, the brigade's three infantry battalions were deployed to the islands to Australia's north