Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

1 July 2012 marked the 70th anniversary of Australia's greatest loss of life at sea, in war or peace. On that date in 1942, at 2.29 am, the Montevideo Maru, an unmarked Japanese transport freighter, was torpedoed by an American submarine in the South China Sea, whilst transporting more than 1,000 Australian soldiers and civilian prisoners of war. The ill-fated ship sank in just 11 minutes. There were no Australian survivors.

This was our worst maritime disaster—the biggest single loss of life in Australia's wartime history, and still today it remains the biggest. Much uncertainty and conspiracy have surrounded both the existence of the Montevideo Maru and the 1 July sinking. Rumours and theories have circulated about this tragic event since the end of the Second World War. Some even believe the Japanese had fabricated the sinking in an attempt to avoid war crimes. Earlier this year, however, the Japanese handed thousands of POW documents to the Australian government and the Montevideo Maru's manifest, which contained the names of all of the Australians on board, was found to be amongst them. The translation of the manifest was released in June 2012 confirming that a total of 1,054 Australians were on board, of whom 845 were members of the Australian Army unit, Lark Force.

On Sunday, 1 July this year, on the 70th anniversary, a memorial dedicated to those lost on the Montevideo Maru was unveiled at the Australian War Memorial. This superb memorial was done for, and on behalf of, the Australian War Memorial in partnership with the Rabaul and Montevideo MaruSociety. Created by renowned Melbourne sculptor James Parrett, the memorial commemorates those Australians who died in the defence of Rabaul and those who later died as prisoners in the sinking of the Montevideo Maru. The sculpture is fabricated in stainless steel and stands about 3.5 metres high. It is a fascinating design, and it may be visited in the award-winning Eastern Precinct of the Australian War Memorial.

In true veteran mateship, more than 1,000 people, many of whom were in their late 80s and 90s, braved single-digit temperatures to see their mates honoured. In the words of Lark Force Association President Norm Furness, whose members were on board the Montevideo Maru:'Today's stately ceremony is their funeral. This memorial is their headstone.' Lest we forget.

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