Perhaps he was the sailor - thought to be from the Sydney - whose remains were buried with full military honours, sixty seven years after his ship went down.
Finally, in the company of the Governor General, the WA Governor, the Defence Minister (representing the Prime Minister), Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, WA Premier Colin Barnett, and other high ranking personnel, the families of the Sydney sailors have been able to give their men a symbolic homecoming.
The timing could not have been more perfect for the Barnett government’s grant of $60,000 to the Geraldton Rotary Club to fund the fifth element of the HMAS Sydney memorial.
Lest we forget
Finally, in the company of the Governor General, the WA Governor, the Defence Minister (representing the Prime Minister), Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, WA Premier Colin Barnett, and other high ranking personnel, the families of the Sydney sailors have been able to give their men a symbolic homecoming.
The timing could not have been more perfect for the Barnett government’s grant of $60,000 to the Geraldton Rotary Club to fund the fifth element of the HMAS Sydney memorial.
Lest we forget
The beaches in Geraldton look out towards the ocean where HMAS Sydney found its final resting place. The Batavia coast is well known for its shipwrecks, but few have touched the hearts of the nation in the same way as the Sydney.
At the top of a hill overlooking the Geraldton coastline, a dome made of hundreds of silver seagulls represents the souls of each of the 645 lost sailors.
When the air is stirring, a mournful tune plays across the top of the open-ended pipes which separate the memorial plaques.
And the statue of a woman, clutching her hat against the wind, looks resolutely out to sea, searching the horizon for her man - who never returned.
At the top of a hill overlooking the Geraldton coastline, a dome made of hundreds of silver seagulls represents the souls of each of the 645 lost sailors.
When the air is stirring, a mournful tune plays across the top of the open-ended pipes which separate the memorial plaques.
And the statue of a woman, clutching her hat against the wind, looks resolutely out to sea, searching the horizon for her man - who never returned.
HMAS Sydney
Copyright Brian Ellis MLC © 2009 - 2011
Electorate Office: Unit 1, Druids Hall, Corner Durlacher and Sanford Streets, Geraldton, WA 6530. PO Box 231, Geraldton, WA 6531
Ph: +61 (08) 9923 9211; Fax: +61 (08) 9923 9222; Email: brian.ellis@mp.wa.gov.au
Ph: +61 (08) 9923 9211; Fax: +61 (08) 9923 9222; Email: brian.ellis@mp.wa.gov.au
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