The mast of the first HMAS Sydney located at Bradleys Head in Sydney Harbour has been declared a national military memorial.
The declaration was made by Veterans Affairs and Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh yesterday (March 17).
“Commemorative services to honour and remember the lost crew members of the two Sydneys, as well as all Navy personnel who served, are held at the Bradleys Head Naval Memorials to this day,” he says.
“This is a site steeped in Australia’s proud naval history and holds a significant place in the hearts of all our Navy personnel.”
The naval memorial is the only such memorial that Australian and foreign naval ships honour on entering and leaving Sydney Harbour.
His office says it becomes the ninth Australian military memorial to be declared nationally significant.
The other memorials are:
Australian Ex Prisoners of War Memorial, Ballarat (Victoria).
HMAS Sydney II Memorial, Geraldton (WA).
Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne (Victoria).
Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney.
Korean War Memorial, Moore Park, Sydney.
Cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney.
Korean War Memorial in Broadbeach (Queensland).
Desert Mounted Corps Memorial, Albany (WA).
Located within Sydney Harbour National Park, the focal point of the memorials is the mast of the first HMAS Sydney; the site also includes a RAN Memorial and memorial walk.
MAST MEMORIAL
The HMAS Sydney I was the first Australian ship to fight at sea when it defeated the German light cruiser SMS Emden on November 9, 1914, off the Cocos Islands.
Four Australians were killed as well as 134 Germans.
When the vessel was decommissioned in 1928, the mast was removed and erected at Bradleys Head in 1934 to commemorate the Emden action: click here for more about the first Sydney.
The memorials also commemorate the single largest loss of life in the Navy’s history when the HMAS Sydney (II) was sunk on November 19, 1941, off Western Australia during close-range combat with the German auxiliary cruiser HSK Kormoran.
None of the Sydney II’s 645-strong crew survived; click here for more about that battle.
OTHER MEMORIAL NEWS: funding available for repairs.
