James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) the 2/10th Field Regiment was an artillery regiment within the 8th Division 2nd Australian Imperial Force, composed almost entirely of Queenslanders from across the state, and

  (ii) the Regiment:

(A) formed and trained at Redbank in Queensland in July 1940,

(B) boarded the Queen Mary at Circular Quay in Sydney and embarked for Malaya on 4 February 1941,

(C) disembarked at Malacca in Johore on 19 February 1941 and played a vital role in the Malayan campaign and in the defence of Singapore,

(D) was among the 15,000 Australians who were surrendered to the Japanese at the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942,

(E) was dispersed to camps across South East Asia and Japan after being transferred to the Changi prisoner of war camp, and

(F) suffered, for the remainder of the war, cruel and inhuman conditions as prisoners of war, with 286 of the 846 men dying;

(b) further notes that today marks the 75th anniversary of the fall of Singapore;

(c) further notes that:

  (i) the 2/10th Field Regiment Association was formed in 1947,

  (ii) since then, the Association has held an annual public remembrance service to commemorate all of the Australian servicemen and women who fought and gave their lives during the Malayan Campaign, as Singapore fell, and as Japanese prisoners of war, as well as those who have since passed on,

  (iii) this annual service brings together friends and family of those who served, as well as representatives from the army, navy and air force, the nurses, the widows, the prisoners of war, the Government of Singapore, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and the Returned and Services League, and

  (iv) to commemorate the 75th anniversary, the Association will be holding a service on 19 February 2017 at the Shrine of Remembrance in Brisbane; and

(d) commends the Association for its dedication to:

  (i) maintaining contact between the remaining men and women who served in Malaya and Singapore and their families, and

  (ii) keeping alive the memory and sacrifices of those who have fallen.

Question agreed to.