Sunday, February 1, 2009

Human interest story

By Bronween Bashford
"HMAS Sydney has been found".
Words that thousands of Australians, including myself, thought that they would never hear. But hearing those words this morning, I felt that a circle was starting to close.
In 1995, a year designated for Australia to remember the World War II, I worked on a radio documentary about the sinking of the HMAS Sydney off the coast of Western Australia in 1941.
This was a project that was close to me. My grandfather, John Fuller, was a Warrant Officer on "the Sydney", as it affectionately became known, and for as long as I can remember the Sydney and her fate were talked about in my family.
My grandfather's dress sword was used at family occasions like weddings and christenings. It is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship with an etched Wilkinson blade and carved handle. But it was my mother's gift of two photos of my grandfather that started me thinking about the impact the sinking of HMAS Sydney had on the families of those 645 seamen.
My grandmother had to go to work, relying on three young children to keep the house, gardens and to cook as well as doing their schoolwork.
Because HMAS Sydney was based in the city after which she was named, her crew mostly came from NSW and in researching my documentary I met local people like Judith Bennett (whose father was on the ship), naval historians, conspiracy theorists and people who were just attracted to the story of Australia's greatest wartime loss at sea.
Listening back to my documentary today I am still drawn to the raw emotions in the interviews and the huge sadness that 66 years later, the sinking of the HMAS Sydney can still generate emotional stories.
So now they've found HMAS Sydney what next? It will be interesting to witness the examination of the wreck to see what stories she has to tell. But for 645 families today will mean closure can finally begin.

No comments: