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U.S.S. PearyPrint Page Print this page

May-2007
May-2007

Photographs supplied by Peter F Williams

The plaque commemorates the U.S.S. Peary and is dedicatedto her crew who died in service or were killed in action in World War Two.

The first enemy attack on Australian soil in the history of the Commonwealth of Australia occurred at 9.58am on Thursday 19 February 1942. The small Northern Territory town of Darwin suffered an air-raid attack by 188 Japanese aeroplanes.

At the time of the attack the civilian population numbered less than 2000. The main target for the first attack was Darwin`s harbour. There were upwards of 45 ships in the port, including the US destroyer Peary. Within minutes Peary had been sunk with a loss of 91 killed or missing.

Location

Address:Esplanade, Bicentennial Park, adjacent to Cenotaph, Darwin, 0800
State:NT
Area:Foreign
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -12.466696
Long: 130.840137
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
Monument Theme:Conflict
Sub-Theme:WW2
Actual Event Start Date:19-February-1942
Actual Event End Date:19-February-1942

Dedication

Front Inscription

U.S.S. Peary DD 226

Commissioned Oct. 22, 1920 at William Cramp and Son Shipyard Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.A.

Sunk by Japanese aircraft Darwin, Australia Feb. 19. 1942

Dedicated to those who gave their lives

Donated by
Dallis E. Widick U. S. N.
John H. Patterson U. S. N. R. 
 

Source: SKP, MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au