Parliament House Canberra ACT 2602
Telephone 02 6277 7820 Facsimile 02 6273 4140
The Hon Alan Griffin MP
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
VA113
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
HMAS SYDNEY HEROES FEATURE ON COMMEMORATIVE POSTER
The faces of many of the 645 servicemen who died in Australia’s greatest naval tragedy feature
on a special poster produced to commemorate the finding of the HMAS Sydney, the Minister for
Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, said today.
More than 30,000 copies of the poster have been sent to primary and high schools as well as
ex-service organisations, aged care facilities and government agencies.
“The striking image on the poster shows men crowded on the deck after the successful action
against the Italian Cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni on 19 July 1940. It is this image, and our
knowledge of the fate awaiting many of them, that brings sadness to our remembrance of this
disaster,” Mr Griffin said.
“The sinking of the Sydney and the loss of all her crew in the Second World War is the single
greatest naval tragedy Australia has experienced in Australian waters.”
Mr Griffin will speak at the HMAS Sydney commemorative service at the Shrine of
Remembrance in Melbourne tomorrow and lay a wreath.
For more than six decades the location of the Sydney had remained a mystery until the
wreckages of both HMAS Sydney and the German Armed Merchant Cruiser Kormoran were
discovered around 112 nautical miles off Steep Point, Western Australia. Kormoran is lying at a
depth of 2560 metres while the Sydney, around 12 nautical miles away, is at 2470 metres.
On 19 November 1941, while returning from convoy duty in Java, HMAS Sydney was engaged
by the Kormoran 130 miles off the West Australian coastline.
It is believed the Kormoran, posing as an unarmed Dutch merchantman, avoided replying to
HMAS Sydney’s requests for identification before opening fire. The Sydney was severely
damaged. Returning fire, Sydney damaged the Kormoran forcing its crew to abandon ship.
Survivors of the Kormoran reported the Australian ship was last seen heavily on fire.
A high resolution image of the Sydney poster is available from:
Media inquiries: Laura Ryan 0437 863 109
The VVCS – Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a
week on 1800 011 046.
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NEWS 
