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| Yarra’s
bravery recalled By Peter Johnson Volume 50, No.4, March 22, 2007 |
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It was standing room only in the Dutch submarine K11 after she picked up 13 survivors five days after the sinking of HMAS Yarra II on March 4, 1942. The submarine’s crew soon became aware of the action in which Yarra (LCDR R.W. Rankin) placed herself between the convoy she was escorting and a Japanese heavy cruiser squadron. It soon also became apparent that of Yarra’s total complement of 151, 138 including the captain and all officers, were killed in the battle or died on a raft from wounds, exposure and thirst. Their bravery has a permanent memorial beside the Yarra River at Newport, Melbourne, and was recalled at a special service there on March 4 this year, 65 years to the day when Yarra was lost. Andre Bruinhout, a signalman with K11, remembered that it had been sheer luck that the submarine had come across “a lot of Carley floats floating about”. “With the survivors on board, it was standing room only,” he said. The submarine made her way to Colombo on the surface and, according to Andre, was a sitting duck. “The whole crew was like Florence Nightingales.” Andre, who has lived in Australia since the end of the war, yielded his bunk to a wounded Geoff Bromilow. Geoff, who had 52 shrapnel wounds, was the only wounded person to survive the sinking or the raft ordeal. He died in August 2004 aged 86, and was the father of Honorary Yarra National Memorial Co-ordinator, Mrs Christine Hirchfield. HMAS Yarra II was remembered with pride by Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Russ Shalders, AO, CSC, RAN, the ship’s company of HMAS Yarra IV, and dozens of relatives, ex-servicemen and women, friends, and supporters. Among them was Reg Matthews, who was posted out of Yarra about two weeks before she was sunk and Mr Angus Walsh who was instrumental in the establishment of the memorial. Many of those attending were related to Melbourne-born Leading Seaman Ronald “Buck” Taylor who ignored the order to abandon ship and stayed at his gun firing at the enemy until being killed just before Yarra was sunk. The last two of the 10 Taylor children still alive, Ronald’s sisters Valda and Gaye, were at the service. VADM Shalders expressed the deep admiration and pride in the actions of Yarra’s officers and men from all in the RAN who had followed them since. “This gallant ship’s company deserves our remembrance and gratitude,” he said. Yarra tried to save the convoy of three auxiliary vessels, which she was escorting from Batavia to Fremantle, by drawing the enemy’s fire. “If ever a ship and her captain died fighting it was Yarra,” VADM Shalders said. |
