MEMBERS of the Queensland branch of the HMAS Perth National Association visited the HMAS Perth (I) Memorial now nearing completion in East Fremantle last month.
The group included four members who served on HMAS Perth (II) during the Vietnamese conflict.
When completed, the memorial on Riverside Road will take on national significance and the Queensland branch members were keen to see its progress.
The HMAS Perth (I), in company with the American cruiser USS Houston, was attacked in the Sunda Strait on March 1, 1942.
There was heavy loss of life when both ships were sunk by a Japanese invasion fleet heading for Indonesia.
Survivors
The survivors were captured by the Japanese and sent to work on the notorious Burma Railway, while the survivors were transported to Japan to work in coal mines.
Many of the POW-laden transports were attacked by American submarine which resulted in further deaths of Perth’s crew. Amazingly, some of the POWs were rescued and eventually arrived back in Australia.
The memorial that the Queenslanders came to visit is in two parts. The completed first stage has the names of all the crew who were on the ship on that fateful night engraved on a wall of remembrance.
In front of the granite wall is a compass rose with a half scale replica of one of the propellers from the Perth.
The second stage will represent the bow of the ship and will be clad in glass with imprinted scenes showing the HMAS Perth (I) and her crew.
An image of the USS Houston will also be included.
Queensland branch president Darrell Neil and secretary Terry McLeod presented memorial chairman Mike Bailey with three pictures of the three HMAS Perths.
Each image was made up of 43,000 individual ‘dots’ and took two months to complete.
The memorial is expected to be completed and opened by March 2025.
by DAVID NICOLSON
Perth Voice Interactive 
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