Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A moving ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea and unveil commemorative street signs was held on the weekend at South Maroubra in our community. The event was staged at Coral Sea Park, named in honour of those who fought and lost their lives in the fateful Pacific air and naval battle against the Japanese, and it featured wonderful speeches from veterans, local political leaders and the United States consul general, as well as a barbecue for locals and the unveiling of the street signs.

Our local community has a very strong connection to the great wars. The Randwick naval depot resupplied and rearmed Allied ships. Both Rosebery and Randwick racecourses hosted numerous Army encampments, and Anzac parade, of course, is named in honour of those Anzacs who marched from those racecourses down to the docks at Circular Quay. Following the wars, many servicemen and servicewomen returned to settle in our community in suburbs created specifically to welcome them home and to ease their transition back into normal life. Over a dozen streets in the suburb of Maroubra are named after warships related to the Battle of the Coral Sea—in particular the Lexington, Yorktown and Chicago. Our community is proud of our connection to this fateful battle and I pay my respects to those who fought those many years ago. Lest we forget.