Senator TCHEN (7:36 PM) — On 4 March 1942, 61 years ago, as dawn broke over the Indian Ocean between Indonesia and Australia, a small convoy of two merchant ships and a minesweeper escorted by the sloop HMAS Yarra, with Lieutenant Commander Robert Rankin of Cobar, New South Wales in command, was intercepted by a Japanese force of three heavy cruisers and two destroyers. At 6.30 a.m., the Yarra made an enemy sighting report, ordered the convoy to disperse, moved to delay the enemy by laying down a smokescreen and advanced to attack in a bid to buy time for the other ships to escape. The sloop Yarra was the second ship in the Royal Australian Navy to bear that name. Built at Sydney's Cockatoo Dockyard, she was a Grimsby class lightly armed escort sloop with three four-inch guns and a top speed of 16.5 knots. Commissioned in 1936, she served in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean before returning to convoy duties between Australia and Singapore after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour.

In her last action on 4 March 1942, the Yarra faced three Japanese cruisers, each armed with 10 eight-inch guns and with a top speed of over 30 knots—and that was not counting the two destroyers, each of which would be more than a match for the Yarra. She was outgunned, outnumbered and outsped. Nevertheless, the Yarra engaged the enemy for more than an hour. By 8 a.m. the ship was on fire and sinking. Commander Rankin ordered `abandon ship' shortly before he was killed by a direct hit on the bridge. Leading Seaman Ronald Buck Taylor on `B' gun continued to load and fire until he, too, was killed.

Of the Yarra's crew of 151, only 13 survived. One hundred and thirty-eight, including all officers, were killed in action or died subsequently before being rescued. As no surviving officers were witnesses to the action, the epic and valiant efforts of the Yarra and her ship's company, individually and collectively, never received official recognition—an injustice unrectified even today, except perhaps through the Navy. The name of the Yarra has been maintained in the Australian Navy, first by Yarra III, a post World War II River class destroyer which served in Malaysia during the Indonesian Confrontation, and more recently by Yarra IV, a minehunter ship built in Newcastle and commissioned in Sydney on 1 March 2003—last Saturday. The Navy has also commemorated the deeds of Robert Rankin by naming the sixth Collins class submarine HMAS Rankin. There has been no recognition of the valour of Leading Seaman Ronald Taylor to date.

In the manner that we have grown accustomed to for all things Australian, the memory of the Yarra and her crew was better maintained by voluntary efforts in the community. The HMAS Yarra Association was formed in 1950 by the former ship's company of Yarra II, including the survivors of her last action and all officers and men who served on her between 1936 and 1942. Membership is open to those who served in the later Yarra III and Yarra IV, the family members of the crew of Yarra II, and other interested people.

The association stands for loyalty to the reigning sovereign of Australia and the Commonwealth of Australia for the maintenance of the founding principles of the Constitution and for the development of a national spirit, while striving for peace, goodwill and friendship among the serving and ex-serving members of the allied navies of the world and the Royal Australian Navy. It seeks to perpetuate the memory and deeds of those who gave their lives in the naval forces of the Commonwealth and their allies.

Amongst the association's members are four surviving members of the crew of Yarra II, including Mr Frank Glover OAM JP, of New South Wales, the president of the association, and two survivors of the last battle: Mr Geoffrey Bromilow of Victoria and Mr Peter Manthey of Queensland. Mr R.G.A. Campbell of Queensland is the fourth of the quartet. I seek leave to incorporate the membership list of the HMAS Yarra Association in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The document read as follows—

The HMAS Yarra Association

Frank Glover (NSW) (Yarra II) (President)

Geoffrey Bromilow (VIC) (Yarra II survivor)

RGA Campbell (QLD) (Yarra II)

Peter Manthey (QLD) (Yarra II survivor)

Reg G Matthews (WA) (Yarra II)

Anries Bruinhout (VIC) (K11)

Pat Andersen (NSW) (Yarra III)

John F Askham (USA) (Yarra III)

Gary Balhause (NSW) (Yarra III)

Nevell Bateman (NSW) (Yarra III)

David Bates (NSW) (Yarra, III)

Peter Battistello (VIC) (Yarra III)

Alan Beaumount AC (ACT) (Yarra, III) (Patron)

Wally Birch (Yarra. III)

William Bird (NSW) (Yarra III)

John A Blackmore (Yarra III)

Peter Blundy (QLD) (Yarra III)

Jeff Brennam (Yarra III)

Mark Burton (PNG) (Yarra III)

Dean Cagney (NSW) (Yarra III)

Darren Carruthers (NSW) (Yarra III)

Billy Chick (NSW) (Yarra III)

John Cunningham (Yarra III)

John Curley (SA) (Yarra III)

Smokey Dawson (NSW) (Yarra. III)

Robert Derbin (NSW) (Yarra III)

David W Dixon (NSW) (Yarra III)

Mick Edwards (NSW) (Yarra III)

Allan Ellis (WA) (Yarra III)

Terrance Fauchon (NSW) (Yarra III)

Jack Fenton (NSW) (Yarra III)

Jean-Pierre Gibard (SA) (Yarra III)

Dean Goodman (Yarra III)

Pat Gordon (NSW) (Yarra III)

Ray Green (TAS) (Yarra III)

Phil Hannan (Yarra, III)

Brian Harper (Yarra III)

Nick Helyer (NSW) (Yarra, III)

Ian Hocking (Yarra III)

Peter Holstein (NSW) (Yarra III)

Guy Murray Hunter (Yarra III)

Ian Irving (NSW) (Yarra III)

W Jenkinson (QLD) (Yarra III)

Stephen Johns (Yarra III)

Josh Van Kalken (QLD) (Yarra III)

Peter Kannengiesser (NSW) (Yarra III)

Simon Kelly (NSW) (Yarra III)

Kevin Kershaw (WA) (Yarra III)

Ray Kershaw (WA) (Yarra III)

Terry King (NSW) (Yarra III)

Branko Klinsic (Yarra III)

Paul Lamont (Yarra III)

Shane Loughrey (NSW) (Yarra III)

Simon Luck (Yarra III)

John C Macdonald (ACT) (Yarra III) (Patron)

Peter McGurk (NSW) (Yarra III)

Geoff Mallon (NSW) (Yarra III)

Darrell May (NSW) (Yarra, III)

Ken Mead (NSW) (Yarra, III)

Chris Mills (NSW) (Yarra III)

Bill Middleton (NSW) (Yarra III)

Mark Mobley (NSW) (Yarra III)

Eric Moffitt (NSW) (Yarra, III)

Greg Moore (Yarra III)

Ron Nugent (Yarra III)

Terry Pannell (Yarra III)

Gervase Pearce (NSW) (Yarra III)

Colin Phelps (NSW) (Yarra III)

Garry Pyke (VIC) (Yarra III)

Trevor Pike (NSW) (Yarra III)

Buck Rogers (NSW) (Yarra III)

Peter Schmidt (Yarra III)

Doug Spence (NSW) (Yarra III)

Steve Spencer (NSW) (Yarra III)

Darren Stevenson (NSW) (Yarra III)

Ross Stevenson (NSW) (Yarra III)

Gary Storey (NSW) (Yarra III)

Ken Swain (NSW) (Yarra III)

William Swanwick (VIC) (Yarra III)

Norm Sweeney (WA) (Yarra III)

Barrie Thompson (Yarra III)

Ray Vidler (NSW) (Yarra III) (Secretary/Treasurer)

Wayne Williams (NSW) (Yarra III)

Alex J Hawes (NSW) (Yarra IV)

S Elliott (Yarra IV)

Steve Fisher (Yarra IV)

Kevin Patrick Hocking (NSW) (Yarra IV)

Graeme Daly Kelly (NSW) (Yarra IV)

Steven Kimsey (NSW) (Yarra IV)

Peter Morris (NSW) (Yarra IV)

Elizabeth Archibald (QLD)

Tom Bateman (VIC)

George Brooker (NSW)

Keith Brooker (NSW)

Rev Ted Brooker (ACT) (Chaplain)

Wayne Brooker (NSW)

Alan R Buckley

Mrs Madge Buckley (VIC)

J Edwards (VIC)

Garth Farrow (NSW)

Ian Glover (NSW)

Herbert S Graves (NSW)

Valmai Guller (VIC)

Geoffrey Gutteridge (QLD)

David Hamilton (NSW)

Mark Harmey (NSW)

Margaret Hawke (SA)

Wayne Heaslip

Bill Houssenloge (NSW)

Pam Hudson (NSW)

Stephen Ide (NSW)

William Lancaster (NSW)

Janet McFarlane (NSW)

Robert J McFarlane (NSW)

Mrs McFarlane (NSW)

Bill Mackay (NSW)

Margaret Mackay (NSW)

Darrell May

Mrs Miriam Middleton (TAS)

William Moffitt (NSW)

Beryl Morgan (NSW)

Evan Morgan (NSW)

Mrs Shirlie Neal JP (NSW)

Keith Plumridge (NSW)

Betty Sands (QLD)

Nancy Shanahan (NSW)

Reg Siemsen (VIC)

Chris Rotering (VIC)

Glenn Tankard (NSW)

Angus Walsh OAM (VIC) (Memorial Coordinator)

Maureen Walsh (VIC) (Victorian Honorary Secretary)

Joan Witheriff (QLD)

Senator TCHEN —A fifth survivor, Mr Keith Buckley of Victoria, passed away in December 2002. Mr Buckley was one of the 13 rescued by the Dutch submarine K11 in 1942. He went on to serve 11 more years in the Royal Australian Navy. As one of only three survivors of the 1942 action, Mr Buckley played a major role in the erection of the HMAS Yarra National Memorial in November 2000 in Newport on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay. Mr Buckley is survived by his wife and son, both of whom are members of the HMAS Yarra Association. The erection of the HMAS Yarra National Memorial was achieved by the HMAS Yarra Association with the support of the City of Hobson Bay, the Australian Defence Force, the Rotary Club of Williamstown, and many others. A list of the sponsors of the memorial is available on the web site www.plaques. satlink.com.au/list/Asian/Australia/hmas.htm.

Last Sunday, 2 March 2003, I was privileged to attend the 61st HMAS Yarra anniversary service conducted at the site of the memorial by Reverend Ted Brooker, the chaplain to the association and the son of a crew member of the Yarra. The service was attended by over 100 members and friends of the association, including Mr Rob Taylor, the nephew of Leading Seaman Ronald Taylor. I particularly thank Mr Angus Walsh OAM, the association's honorary memorial coordinator, for extending the invitation to me. I commend the association for maintaining the spirit and the vision of Australia, particularly at this time of difficulty and challenge. Australia again reluctantly faces the possibility of war to rid the world of evil we cannot be rid of otherwise. Yet we will face it squarely, taking on and discharging our responsibility to the civilised community. I commend the association for its effort to preserve that spirit and show us the way.