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Operations Jaywick & RimauPrint Page 
The monument commemorates the members of Z-Force who undertook operations Jaywick and Rimau in 1943 and 1944 during World War Two.
During the war Fraser Island and Hervey Bay were used as training grounds for the famous Z-Force. Using an old Japanese fish carrier named Kofuku Naru, which had been changed to the Krait, Z-Force managed to get into Singapore Harbour where they attached limpet mines to a number of Japanese vessels. In one night they blew up over 38 000 tons of Japanese ships and managed to return to Australia.
Location
| Address: | Dayman Street, Flinders Outlook, Dayman Park, Urangan, 4655 |
|---|---|
| State: | QLD |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -25.288981 Long: 152.907656 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 03-September-1939 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 15-August-1945 |
Dedication
In honour of Operations Jaywick and Rimau
1943 and 1944
Operation Jaywick - 1943
The British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the Royal Australian Navy formed a top secret special operations unit in 1943 to gather intelligence and carry out sabotage behind enemy lines. One such operation was Operation Jaywick involving a group of Australian and British special service operatives faced the enormous task of sneaking into the Japanese stronghold of Singapore Harbour to sabotage as many enemy ships as possible.
On 8 August, 1943 they set sail in KRAIT, a small Japanese owned fishing boat that had been seized and used as a refugee transport boat at the fall of Singapore. The journey would take them from Cairns in Queensland to Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia, a 4,000km trip. Once there, collapsible canoes were loaded aboard and, on 2 September, their mammoth journey continued on to Singapore. The crew of 14 comprised four soldiers and ten soldiers, two Englishmen, a Welshman, an Ulsterman and ten Australians.
On the night of September 26 the operatives struck, sneaking into Singapore Harbour in collapsible canoes and attaching limpet mines to the Japanese ships. Almost 40,000 tons of Japanese shipping was destroyed or damaged, a huge success and vital psychological boost for the raiders as well as the Allied prisoners of war in Changi. All 14 raiders returned safely, six of them would later take part in Operation Rimau during the following year.
Operation Rimau - 1944
Inspired by the success of Operation Jaywick, Special Operations Australia (SOA) prepared for Operation Rimau. The objective was the same, Singapore Harbour, but there the similarity ended. The operatives would be delivered to the area by the British submarine HMS PORPOISE, the plan was to seize a small fishing boat, rather than sailing in one from Australia and this time they would deliver their mines by the way of submersible canoes (called `Sleeping Beauties` or SB). On 28 September, a small Indonesia junk, MUSTIKA was seized and prepared for the raid on Singapore. The operatives were to carry out their raid and return to rendezvous with Porpoise on the night on 7/8 November at their base on Merapas Island. There were four more men involved in this mission, 23 as opposed to Jaywick`s 14.
[Further Details of Operation]
Their names liveth forever more - Lest We Forget
Special operatives of Operation Jaywick - 1943
[ Names ]
