ANSWERING THE CALL
"A dream held by two of
our past Presidents will come
to fruition on Friday November 27th at 1000 when our Chief
of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett AO CSC RAN,
will unveil and dedicate
the bronze statue of the lone sailor, 'Answering the Call'.
The statue is situated on the foreshore at Port Melbourne,
opposite Dow Street, and is across the road from the former
site of HMAS LONSDALE. The statue commemorates the men and
women of all rates and ranks of our Royal Australian Navy
who have served from colonial times, through war and peace,
and serve today and in the future . It also serves as a
permanent reminder of Navy's presence in Port Melbourne. Our
sailor is wearing a WWII uniform, in round rig ,of 1942
vintage. He's looking out to sea, towards the entry of Port
Phillip Bay at the Rip, no doubt dreaming of adventures to
come.
All who
joined the RAN at HMAS LONSDALE for the duration of WWII
plus 6 months had the prefix PM to their official number.
This PM stood for Port Melbourne and thousands of wartime
sailors carried that with them to signify where they had
joined the Navy. With the passage of time, evidence that our
Victorian Colonial Navy had a significant presence in this area
from 1859 to 1901, the Commonwealth Navy likewise from 1901
to 1911, as did our Royal Australian Navy from 1911 to 1992,
had all but disappeared!
The concept of a Naval Memorial at Port
Melbourne was envisaged initially by our Past Presidents,
Don Boyle and LCDR Mac Gregory' as a 'Navy Square'. After
Don's passing the project transitioned into the 'Answering
the Call' concept. The Naval Heritage Foundation of
Australia Inc. was incorporated in January 22nd 2008 and Don
and Mac's dream will come
to pass this November, nearly 8 years later. Upon Mac's
death, Chairmanship of the Foundation passed to his daughter
Jayne. We express a hearty 'WELL
DONE!' to Jayne and her committee upon achieving such
a successful outcome .'Navy's back in Port Melbourne!'"
Yours
aye,
Marty
Grogan
Naval
Historical Society of Australia (Victoria)
