Bell George Pty Ltd
+61 (0) 449 681 282
tom@bellgeorge.com
Nuclear Shame: HMAS Murchison’s National Servicemen Left
for Dead
Sydney, Australia, 21 April 2008. More than one third of the 60 National Servicemen
(“Nashos”) who served on the HMAS Murchison in 1952 are now dead, with many
diagnosed with cancers and related diseases. 55 years on two of the surviving Nashos,
Mike Rowe and Ken Palmer, are ready to tell their story and have the photographs to
support it.
“We have spent the last five years trying to get the records straight about our exposure to
a Nuclear test at Monty Bello Island as part of operation Hurricane,” said Mike.
“Official records show HMAS Murchison was 70 nautical miles South South West
(SSW) of the blast site but photos taken with our Box Brownie type cameras clearly show
the “cloud” rising on the horizon. You could not do this from 70 nautical miles away.”
“On 3 October 1952 we were ordered on deck, told to face east and then told to turn
around to see the cloud. We were wearing shorts and sandals!”
“It’s difficult to believe our service records have been altered to show many of the
Nashos were not on the HMAS Murchison but on ships that were not at Monty Bello at
all.”
Ken Palmer recalls the events after the blast: “We went back towards Onslow where we
spent 4 days cleaning and painting the hull of the ship. Little did we know that we were
being exposed to atomic radiation.”
In June 2006, the Australian Federal Government announced that it would provide non-
liability health treatment for all malignant cancers for Australians who participated in the
British Nuclear Test Programmes in Australia from 1952 to 1963. Many Nashos applied
and were declared not eligible on the grounds that they did not meet the definition of an
“Australian Participant”.
According to Mike: “We are not motivated by compensation but by the desire for
recognition that we were exposed to Atomic radiation. Given the long “life” of Atomic
bomb components we are seeking an assurance from the Government that our families
will be looked after.”
“Five years since its publication the Government is still to accept The Clarke Report –
Review of Veterans Entitlements – Recommendation Chapter 16 which extends the
Veterans Entitlement Act (VEA) coverage.”
For further information, photograph rights or video of interviews with the Nashos contact
Tom Godfrey on +61 (0) 449 681 282 or tom@bellgeorge.com.
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