Jodie Campbell (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Some time ago a lady in her eighties came into my office in Launceston. She wanted to know what was happening in Tasmania to commemorate the historic discovery of HMAS Sydney off the coast of Western Australia. She wanted to know because her brother had been aboard the light cruiser on that fateful day in 1941 when its fate collided with that of the German raider Kormoran. Mary Bailey and her sister, Rita Mulligan, felt their brother and the 35 other Tasmanians lost on that day deserved recognition. I agreed and that is why, in conjunction with the Naval Association’s Alex McNeil, a federal government grant was applied for and provided. The Naval Association received $3,000 to stage a memorial for those who perished on HMAS Sydney. I had the pleasure of attending that memorial on 19 November. As you are no doubt aware, Madam Deputy Speaker, and as has been well documented, there were 645 men on HMAS Sydney who lost their lives. Thirty-six of them were Tasmanian.

It is impossible for us to understand the pain families and loved ones have gone through over the years and the uncertainty, for so long, of not knowing where their brothers, fathers or uncles actually died. I pay tribute to their enduring commitment. I pay tribute also to the commitment of their loved ones who served on the Sydney and, indeed, those hundreds of Tasmanians who gave their lives in the many theatres of the Second World War. Isolated though Tasmania is, as a state we have a fine tradition of service. Men and women have, and still do, serve our country with professionalism and pride.

The death of a loved one during wartime is a difficult thing to comprehend. The tragedy of the Sydney was doubly compounded by the mystery surrounding its exact location. I do not doubt that the discovery of its watery grave in March this year, more than 6½ decades after its engagement with the Kormoran, provided closure for some and reopened old wounds for others. The Second World War was a bloody and drawn-out conflict fought on the seas, in the air, across deserts and jungles and in all four seasons. It cost the lives of more than 1,100 Tasmanians. They were prisoners of war, airmen, soldiers and, of course, seamen. Their sacrifices and the sacrifices of those they left behind have made indelible marks on our collective psyche. For their selflessness we are grateful; in the face of their bravery we are humbled. The discovery on 17 March of HMAS Sydney laid to rest one of our country’s most enduring maritime mysteries. It provided those left behind with a final resting place for those who perished—a final resting place some 2.5 kilometres under the surface.

There are many touching stories from the Sydney, but one I heard at the memorial service in George Town has stayed with me. A lady, who I will refer to as Barbara, grew up in Tasmania and later moved to Sydney, but not before she met and fell in love with a young man, who I will call Tommy. This young man was firm friends with another lad, who I will call Cyril, whose father, like Tommy’s had returned a very changed man from the First World War. These two young men and their respective girlfriends were enjoying being young and in love when a war, which seemed like a long way away, broke out. In July 1940, Cyril enlisted. Tommy tried to follow but his father, who, you will recall, was a veteran of the First World War, would not have it. So Tommy jumped on a cargo ship to Melbourne and joined the Navy. Fate saw him drafted onboard HMAS Sydney. His letters home to Barbara told of a young man determined to prove himself able and worthy of serving on this fine ship. He was looking forward to the war being over and returning home to Tasmania to start a life and a family with Barbara. Given that he was enlisted away from his home, his family had no idea he was aboard the Sydney when she sank, nor was Barbara even formally notified—she was, after all, only his girlfriend. But Tommy had sent her a photo before he sailed and told her he would be back. Tragically, he never returned, but Barbara would forever have his photo and she carried it with her all her life. Barbara married almost three decades after Tommy’s death and it was a happy marriage, although she carried a torch always for her first love. Barbara died about 18 months ago, before the Sydney was found.

This is just one example. It is but one heartbreaking story of a life forever changed by war, forever changed by the sinking of HMAS Sydney. I would like to congratulate those whose tireless efforts, commitment and, for some, obsession led to the discovery of the Sydney. I would like to thank sisters Mary Bailey and Rita Mulligan for bringing to my attention the role played by Tasmanians on HMAS Sydney, and also Alex McNeil for his efforts to honour the Sydney’s crew.

As a federal government, we have demonstrated a commitment to remembering and honouring those who lost their lives on the Sydney, and that is something which I believe is vital for any government to do. With this in mind, the government has permanently protected both HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran under the Historic Shipwreck Act 1976. For more than 66 years the fates of the Sydney and the Kormoran had been the subject of much public speculation and heartache, and the finding gave the opportunity for closure for many families and friends of the crew. We have now made these measures permanent under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976, prohibiting the damage, disturbance or removal of the vessels and their relics and requiring a Commonwealth permit to enter the sites.

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