H.M.A.S. Patricia CamPrint Page

The plaque commemorates the sinking of the H.M.A.S. Patricia Cam in January 1943 during World War Two. 

Coastwatcher and missionary Reverend Leonard N. Kentish, Chairman of the Methodist Northern Australian Mission District and five Yolngu men from Arnhem Land communities boarded the ship go to Yirrkala.  The ship was then bombed and machine gunned by a Japanese seaplane.  Aboriginal men Milirrma Marika, Djimanbuy, Djinipula Yunupingu died in the attack as well as six other seamen.  Reverend Kentish was taken as a prisoner of war, the only Australian to be captured from home waters.

The three seater seaplane from the Japanese Naval Air Arm's 734th Kokatai, had dived from out of the sun with its engine shut down, passing over Patricia Cam from stern to stem at no more than 30 metres above the mast.

The bomb landed amidships in the centre of the cargo hatch and exploded in the bottom planking. Patricia Cam sank within a minute. Several members of the ship's company were sitting on the forward hatch when the explosion occurred and were thrown down the hold but were almost immediately washed out again by the inrush of water. Both ship's boats were destroyed but the life-raft remained intact. One sailor, Ordinary Seaman Neil G. Penglase, went down with the ship.

While the survivors were bunched in a small area the seaplane returned and dropped its second bomb, killing A. B. Edward, D. Nobes and two of the aboriginal passengers. The seaplane then continued to circle for about half an hour, the rear machine gunner regularly firing into the scattering survivors, but without scoring any hits. The seaplane then flew away to the northward, but returned five minutes later and alighted on the water. One of the crew climbed out and beckoned for someone to swim over. No one accepted the invitation and the seaplane taxied in a circle closer to where Mr Kentish and a rating were resting on some floating hatch covers. Threatened with a revolver, Mr Kentish was ordered to swim over to the seaplane and after a brief conversation he was taken on board.

Reverend Kentish's fate remained unknown until after the war. Investigations by the Allied Occupation Force in Japan revealed that he had been held prisoner at Dobe until 4 May 1943 and then beheaded. Interrogations of former Japanese naval personnel eventually revealed that Sub-Lieutenant Sagejima Maugan had carried out the execution. Following his arrest and trial this officer was hanged at Stanley Gaol, Hong Kong on August 23 1948.

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