Posted on 03/16/2008 4:25:17 PM PDT by Gomez
He was on deck at the time and somehow got off and got far enough away from the vortex.
He sounded like he was suffering from survivor guilt to me. God bless him.
Dunno ... maybe they’re humoring her.
I would suspect that very few men actually went down with the ship. Most probably survived and never got picked up.
HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth were lost with all hands. So was SMS Scharnhorst 5 weeks later.
Yeah, probably, now that you mention it.
YouTube - Western Australia Geraldton H.M.A.S. Sydney Memorial
(the irritating intro to this clip doesn't last long...the story itself is quite respectful and shows the beautiful memorial in appropriate context)
Lots of conspiracy theories that the ship was finished off by a Japanese sub and/or survivors were machined gunned by same.
ping
I wonder if the survivors were atacked by sharks, similar to what happened to many of the crew of the USS Indianapolis in July, 1945.
The following is in part from the history of PIEDMONT...
On the morning of 10 November, while anchored in Seeadler Harbor, Piedmont heard two explosions to port. Mount Hood (AE-11), lying about 3,500 yards away, had blown up. No trace of Mount Hood remained. Between Mount Hood and Piedmont, Mindanao (ARG-3) was anchored and took terrible punishment from the explosion. Fire and rescue parties were immediately dispatched from Piedmont to Mindanao and ships alongside her. Though Piedmont suffered only superficial damage from the explosion, numerous 5ineh projectiles and steel fragments flew over Mindanao and landed on Piedmont's decks and superstructure, most of them ricoehetting off. One man suffered fatal injuries from a direct hit by the base of a 5-inch shell. One 250 pound aerial bomb penetrated the movie locker on the boat deek while another pierced the forecastle and plowed through a tier of bunks. Fortunately neither bomb exploded and remarkably enough, personnel in both compartments escaped injury.
It isn't easy to create a stable, democratic nation - most young countries fail. When you've found a formula that has worked, you do not lightly change it.
In 1932, a socialist Premier of the state of New South Wales leading a socialist state government seized control of all government funds and placed them in the Trades Hall, to prevent the Federal government using its Constitutional powers to pay the national debt. He was stopped in this unconstitutional action by the King's representative, the Governor using the powers of the Crown to remove him from office, and replace him with a caretaker government which called (and won) and immediate general election.
In 1975, a socialist Prime Minister leading a socialist government refused to follow the conventions of the Constitution, and attempted to continue to govern after he had lost the support of the Australian people, and even though he was about to run out of money. He was stopped in this unconstitutional action by the Queen's representative, the Governor-General using the powers of the Crown to remove him from office, and replace him with a caretaker government which called (and won) and immediate general election.
This is why a lot of Australians still view the Crown as important today. Twice in our history, socialist governments have attempted to act unconstitutionally - and on both occasions, it was the powers of the Crown that ensured a peaceful solution to those Constitutional crises.
Most attempts to get rid of the Queen in Australia come from the left of politics for this reason - socialists are the ones who have been thwarted in their illegal and unconstitutional actions by the powers of the Crown.
Australia, is, as you said, an independent nation. Her Majesty is Queen as Queen of Australia - physically the same person as the Queen of the United Kingdom, but legally distinct.
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth to be precise.
Under the 1931 Statute of Westminster, Australia has as much say over the status of the Crown as the United Kingdom does (so do Canada and New Zealand. South Africa ceased to have a say when it became a Republic). In 1936, when Edward VIII wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, he didn't just need the blessing of the His British government - but that of His governments in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. There is compelling evidence that the British government was willing to try and find a compromise - but because the Canadian and Australian governments would not, Edward was forced to abdicate. That shows how we remain independent, but still keep our ties to the Crown - the Queen, as Queen of Australia, reigns over us. But no foreign nation does.
Fabricated by Australians embarassed that the Captain of the Sydney basically royally screwed up by getting too close to Kormoran.
Thank you for the ping - Gator Navy
“Her Majesty Assisted Service...
Her Majesty’s Australian Ship.”
Actually in the case of this Ship it was ‘His Majesty’s’
“They were a former penal colony under the crown”
No they weren’t...
“I would suspect that very few men actually went down with the ship. Most probably survived and never got picked up.”
Unlikely since 350 men from the Kormoran were rescued.
“Fabricated by Australians embarassed that the Captain of the Sydney basically royally screwed up by getting too close to Kormoran.”
That in itself is pure supposition
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.