MONTEVIDEO MARU COMMEMORATIVE SPEECH, 1 JULY 2016, BRISBANE CENOTAPH

The Honourable  Ms Di Farmer MP, Member for Bulimba and today representing the Premier of Queensland and the Speaker of the Queensland Parliament,  the Honourable Mrs Deb Frecklington, Deputy Leader of the Opposition , Member for Nanango, Mrs Gynyth Whatmough, President of the  Australian War Widows Guild, Major Earle Ivers representing the Salvation Army, Mr John Reid representing Brisbane Legacy , Mr Des Kearton of the Wavell Heights RSL  and Patron of the NGVR & PNGVR Association Major General John Pearn, distinguished guests and friends;  good morning and welcome to our annual commemorative ceremony.

The presence of representatives from the Queensland State Government and other key kindred organisations reflect the significance of the occasion.

After a couple of years break we are fortunate to again hold this ceremony in this magnificently restored Hall of Memories .  Our Association’s plaque to the NGVR men lost  on the Montevideo Maru is located behind me . We thank the Trustees and the Brisbane City Council for providing the use of the Cenotaph to us.

74 years ago today Australia’s worst maritime disaster occurred, a disaster borne in war and one which was unknown for three and half years – for three and half years the families of the victims held high hopes for the return of their loved ones, hopes brutally  dashed by hastily prepared telegraphic messages which were sent to offset pending press reports of their  loved ones demise. 

Early in the morning of 1 July 1942 the unmarked Japanese prison ship MV Montevideo Maru was torpedoed off Luzon Island, the Philippines by US Submarine USS Sturgeon. Although 17 Japanese reached shore, none of the 1,053 prisoners on board survived. These were Australian men who were forced to embark in Rabaul on 22 June 1942 for  shipment to Hainan, in China. The prisoners comprised 845 military Prisoners of War and 208 civilian internees. These men had been  sent to the Rabaul and New Guinea Islands for either its defence, or employed in civil occupations for the administration and economic wellbeing of New Guinea, a Mandated Territory of Australia.

The 845 military on board were made up of 178  non commissioned officers and 667 other ranks. The officers were sent to Japan in another ship and survived the war. The military comprised 410 from 2/22 Battalion, 188 from the Royal Australian Artillery, 132 from 1 Independent Company, 36 from the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, 34  from the Royal Australian Engineers and 50 from other units and attachments. 

The civilians were of all ages and from all sections of the community; missionaries, traders, plantation owners and managers, bankers and tradesmen, the youngest being a boy of 15 years of age. Over 50 of the victims were veterans of WW1, 47 of  whom were  civilian internees.

In 1941 the Australian Government sent 1400 military personnel to Rabaul and 270 to islands west,  north and east of Rabaul to defend the Archipelago. The first  group was known as Lark Force comprising the 2/22nd , primarily a Victorian Battalion of just over 900 men, and other supporting ancillary units.   1 Independent Company was the northern screening force. Attached to the 2/22nd  Battalion was a company of 80 men from NGVR, a militia unit formed in the  Mandated Territory of New Guinea. 


On 23 January 1942 the Australian defenders were overwhelmed by a huge Japanese invading force and told “every man for himself”. Eventually about 400 escaped and reached safety, the rest perished either on the Montevideo Maru or during the  fighting or were massacred by the Japanese or  died of hunger or disease during their attempt to escape -  a situation which was never investigated by the Australian Government and  went unrecognised by the Australian people for nearly 70 years.  Imagine the plight of the victims’ families during this time?

During the 1990’s progress towards recognition was, at last,  being made:

1 In 1994 the NGVR & PNGVR Association dedicated a plaque in the  Shrine of Memories, Brisbane Cenotaph to the loss of its men;

2 In 2004 a Montevideo Maru Memorial was erected at Ballarat’s, Victoria Memorial for POWs;

3 In 2009 the Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Society, strongly supported by the NGVR & PNGVR Association, was formed and its first project was the erection of  a memorial for the Montevideo Maru victims, military and civilian, on the Subic Bay Hells Ships Memorial in the  Philippines, which was dedicated by the Australian High Commissioner to the Philippines on 1 July 2009;

4 On the 21 June 2010 both houses of the Australian Parliament, by way of resolution, 
expressed their regret and sorrow for the  tragedy and acknowledged the great suffering over the many long years by the families waiting for news, and recognition of the sacrifice of their loved ones;

5 In 2012, the 70th Anniversary of the disaster, the Society erected, and  the Governor General of Australia  dedicated, a National Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Memorial in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial to those lost , when  over 1700 attended the dedication ceremony. Common comments made by the relatives of the victims after the ceremony included “ the dedication had the gravity of a funeral service” and...” the memorial represents a  tomb stone for our men who have no known grave”. An annual service is usually held at the National Memorial on the nearest Sunday  to 1st July. Next year will be the 75th Anniversary and a large commemorative event is being planned.

The Queensland Government made a generous contribution towards the National Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Memorial.  The NGVR/PNGVR Association is grateful for the Government’s continuing support for this and other activities. Queensland has always had a close relationship with Papua New Guinea and its people from the initial declaration of Papua as a British Protectorate in the 19th Century to recent ongoing practical aid provided.

It is important to acknowledge the sacrifice of and remember these men so present and future generations  of Australians  are aware of the contribution  made towards making our nation what it is today. The supreme sacrifice made by these men must not be forgotten again.