David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 17 May I had the pleasure of representing the Prime Minister at the Cretan Association of Sydney and NSW annual ball in Bankstown. The Cretan Association was established in 1959 and serves as an important link between Australians of Cretan background and their homeland. There was a great spirit of celebration on the night. Several groups demonstrated traditional Cretan dancing, and a traditional poem was read.

One of the important purposes of the function was to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the Battle of Crete in World War II. This battle was the first major airborne battle of the war, with thousands of German troops being parachuted into the island. Germany sought possession of Crete because of its strategic position, with its harbours and airfields providing access to theatres of battle across Europe. Crete was defended by a force of Greek soldiers, Cretan locals and Allied troops from Britain, New Zealand and Australia. The Greek forces fought with extreme courage with weapons which were often less advanced than those of the Germans, as the writer James Maropoulakis Denney has noted:

… at Alikianos the outnumbered 8th Greek Regiment successfully charged the German lines with bayonets when their ammunition had run out. The German commander wired headquarters that at Alikianos that they were confronting a force of over 4,000 Greeks, but in reality, the 8th Greek Regiment had less than 850 men. This kind of bravery was to be duplicated by Greek units throughout the island.

The bravery of the Greek forces was matched by Cretan locals, many of whom had very limited weapons. The lightly armed Cretans attacked the invading Germans with weapons such as knives, rocks and field hoes. The German forces were stunned by the bravery of the locals, as the historian IM Stewart has stated:

During a year of unbroken triumph they [the Germans] had known nothing but the cowed submission of their victims. This unexpected defiance by a civilian population surprised and angered them.

While the German forces ultimately obtained control of Crete, they suffered very substantial losses due to the fighting of Greek, Cretan and Allied forces. Winston Churchill in his history of the war, noted that 'the German losses of their highest-class fighting men removed a formidable air and parachute weapon the could not be deployed elsewhere'.

Of course from 1941 to 1945, the Cretan people provided a powerful resistance movement to German occupation, and sheltered many Australians. Indeed, one of them, Corporal Geoff Edwards of Western Australia, was so moved by the shelter and protection he received from the Cretan people that he named his home back in Western Australia in their honour.

The Battle of Crete forged close relationships between our nations. It was a privilege to attend the Cretan association's annual ball. I commend the organisers on this important function.