Merchant seamen were among the most vulnerable at sea. During conflicts they were often required to transport cargo across hostile oceans. This memorial is dedicated to those who lost their lives serving in the Merchant Navy.

Despite the extreme and often fatal threats at sea, merchant seamen were underpaid, overworked, and lived in poor conditions. The typical merchant seaman was an everyday sailor, untrained for war. Regardless of their lack of training, merchant seamen have been celebrated for their bravery and heroism. Collectively, they were known to obligingly travel anywhere regardless of the risk. Their bravery was acknowledged by John Curtin, Australia’s Prime Minister during WW2 who once said, ‘whenever you see a man in the street wearing the distinctive MN badge, raise your hat to him because without these gallant men the war would be lost’.

Travelling slowly, unescorted, and often unarmed, merchant ships were exposed to submarines, torpedoes, aircraft, and mines. No matter how close the crew were to home, they were constantly at risk. During WW2 forty merchant ships were sunk off the coast of Australia. Mere kilometres away from the coast of Australia, the sinking of SS Iron Crown is known as one of the most devastating attacks off the east coast. Despite roaming the earth’s oceans for twenty years, as a steam freighter, Iron Crown began and ended her journey in Victorian waters. Originally called the Euro, Iron Crown was built and launched in nearby Williamstown. During the war, Iron Crown’s primary cargo was ore, an integral component in weaponry. In June 1942, she was struck by a Japanese Imperial Type B I-27 torpedo; 38 people perished and five survived. The shipwreck was recently discovered and is it is one of the only WW2 shipwrecks discovered in Victoria.

Today, we commemorate the Merchant Navy annually on 3 September in a unique occasion in which the Australian Red Ensign is raised on land. The Red Ensign is the counterpart to the Blue Ensign, the traditional Australian flag.

FURTHER READING

• Australian War Memorial (2019), Merchant Navy, Second World War, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/merchant_navy
• Department of Veteran Affairs (2019), Australians in the Merchant Navy, https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/docs/hif-merchant-navy-2019.pdf

IMAGE CREDITS
Merchant Navy Memorial, Southbank, photographer Jeff Malley 2022