The Snake Bay Patrol was an auxiliary reconnaissance unit made up of Indigenous Australian residents of Melville Island in the Northern Territory that was raised by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. After the first bombing raid on Darwin in 1942, special units consisting of Indigenous Australians were formed, one of which was the Snake Bay Patrol. The Snake Bay Patrol unit was established by Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve officer Lieutenant J.W.B. Gribble during the Pacific War to detect any Japanese forces which landed on the island, with local Indigenous Australians being informally recruited and never formally enlisted into the military. The Patrol's 35 members served on a full-time basis, received firearms training, were issued naval uniforms and held naval ranks