High-level consultations about the 9th Australian Division from October 1942 and later

The highest authorities in the UK and the United States were determined to not have to send the 9th Australian Division back to Australia. Mr. Curtin, the Australian Prime Minister was just as committed to returning the division to Australia. Running against him were the concerns about shipping resources. There was also a nasty push to keep the Australians in the Middle East until the campaign against Rommel was ended. There was also the issue about the division not being able to take equipment back to Australia from the Middle East. That impacted the shipping issue. Prime Minster Curtin was going to get General Macarthur and General Blamey involved in the conversation. It turns out that Generals Macarthur and Blamey mainly wanted the division back in Australia and they would handle equipment as they could.
The next event was that on 17 December 1942, the 9th Australian Division got a new Division Patch. The new patch had a "T" on it, and General Morshead said that it had to do with Tobruk and the division's role in defense of Tobruk.
The next major event was the opening of the railroad from Haifa to Beirut on 20 December. The railroad was built by Australians from their special railroad group. Two days later, there was a ceremony at Gaza where the division "took the salute". For the ceremony, the new division patch was a part of the display. After the speakers finished, General Morshead "took command of the parade". This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Australian Official History.