Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak on this motion in recognition of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru on 1 July 1942. The story of how so many Australians died on board the Montevideo Maru, despite it being our nation’s most horrific maritime disaster, is little known. This Japanese transport freighter was carrying over 1,000 military prisoners of war and civilians. Over 800 Australian soldiers and 206 civilians were believed to be locked in the ship’s hold when she sank. No Australian survived—the biggest single loss of life in our nation’s wartime history.

Many of those who died were members of Lark Force. Lark Force comprised the 2nd/22nd Battalion AIF and supporting units, 1,400 soldiers in total. The 2nd/22nd Battalion, which formed the nucleus of Lark Force, was originally based at Mount Martha, on the Victorian peninsula. The majority of these men came from Victoria, from rural and metropolitan areas. The force arrived in the island on 26 April, tasked with protecting the airfields and seaplane base at Rabaul. The force was ill equipped and was vulnerable to Japanese attacks.

The Japanese began bombing in January 1942, and by the morning of 23 January Lark Force commander Colonel John Scanlan ordered a withdrawal from Rabaul, stating that it was ‘every man for himself’. Of these Australian troops, around 400 escaped and returned to Australia. Of the remaining troops, over 800 became prisoners of war and 160 were massacred at Tol Plantation. Those remaining members of Lark Force were taken prisoner by the advancing Japanese army and were placed in POW camps in Papua New Guinea. Australian and European civilians who were living and working in Rabaul at the time were also taken prisoner by the Japanese army and placed in the POW camps.

In late June 1942, the troops and civilians were taken to the port city of Rabaul, where they were boarded onto the Montevideo Maru, which was scheduled to carry them to Hainan Island, in China, which was occupied by the Japanese at the time. En route to Hainan Island, the Montevideo Maru was intercepted by the American submarine the USS Sturgeon. Unaware that there were Australian POWs on board, the USS Sturgeon torpedoed the ship at 2.29 am. Eleven minutes later, the ship sank. It is thought that most drowned where they were imprisoned in the hull of the ship as it took on water.

From my own district of Ballarat, they were Corporal Cheney, Private Gribble, Corporal Hicks, Lance Corporal Hodder, Lance Corporal Kirkpatrick, Private Ladner, Private Morgan, Private Reid, Private Tulloch, Private Wythe and Private Godfrey. Private Geoff Godfrey’s brother Alan is in Parliament House today with his two daughters. Of the Australian civilians to have died in the Montevideo Maru, one was Walter James Ryan. Walter had moved to the island in 1931 to work for a local trading company. Walter was due for long-service leave in December 1941 but decided to hold off while his wife, Frances, moved to Sydney to settle the children into schooling. Walter was looking forward to following later in 1942 but he did not return home. Walter’s daughter Julia Richardson lives in my own electorate. She has said, like so many of the men and women who are here today, that their life was put on hold for over three years while they waited for the hope of news of their father.

The impact of this tragedy was felt by people right across our country. Loved ones and relatives of those Australians killed have carried the unbearable and unimaginable burden of losing a loved one at war. Amongst these mourners are members and former members of this House. I respectfully acknowledge the loss of Reverend Syd Beazley, the Hon. Kim Beazley’s uncle, and of the grandfather of the Hon. Peter Garrett, both of whom were on board the Montevideo Maru on that fateful morning.

As part of my contribution, I would like to read some words that Kim Beazley has sent specifically for this evening:

Families of those who lost relatives and loved ones in this our greatest loss at sea would be deeply grateful for recognition of their sadness and pride. Most of us left now are too young to have known the fallen but they live richly in our family legend. Australians are good at somberly recognising the sacrifice of their fellows. Opening the nations arms through the Parliament to embrace the dear lost of the Montevideo Maru is part of a fine tradition. The relatives of Syd Beazley—

and, I am sure, many of those here today—

would be warmed by this embrace.

The story of the Montevideo Maru will live in our nation’s history. It is remembered on the national prisoners of war memorial in Ballarat and on other memorials across Australia and internationally. In this parliament, I formally acknowledge those who died on the Montevideo Maru and I pay my respects to their families and their friends who are present with us today.

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