Adelaide River is a township lying 113 km south of Darwin, on the Stuart Highway, the main north-south road from Darwin to Alice Springs. During WW2, Adelaide River was the headquarters of a large base and the war cemetery was created especially for the burial of service personnel who died in this part of Australia.  It was used by Australian General Hospitals Nos 101 107, 119, 121 and 129 and after the war the Army Graves Service moved into it other graves from isolated sites, temporary military burial grounds, and from various civil cemeteries in the area. These included Bagot Hospital Cemetery, Berrimah Hospital and War Cemetery. Daly Waters Civil Cemetery, Darwin Public Cemetery, Gove War Cemetery, Hughes Cemetery in Darwin, Katherine Civil and War Cemeteries, Larrimah War Cemetery, Milingimbi War Cemetery, Mt Isa War Cemetery in Queensland, where No 74 Camp Hospital once operated, South Goulburn Island Mission Cemetery and Truscott War Cemetery.
The war cemetery was taken over the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) in 1947. The Adelaide River War Cemetery was entered on the Register of the National Estate in 1984 and is also listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register and Commonwealth Heritage Register.

Damien Lawrence, Cairns, Qld
Noel Langman, Clare, SA
Lance Laverty, Edmonton, Qld