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H.M.A.S. WestraliaPrint Page
The plaque commemorates the personnel who served on H.M.A.S. Westralia during World War Two.
The plaque location is indicated by the red poppy in the second image.
Location
Address: | Fairbairn & Limestone Avenues, Captain Reg Saunders Courtyard, Australian War Memorial, Campbell, 2612 |
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State: | ACT |
Area: | AUS |
GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.280392 Long: 149.147716 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
Monument Type: | Plaque |
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Monument Theme: | Conflict |
Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
Actual Event Start Date: | 03-September-1939 |
Actual Event End Date: | 15-August-1945 |
Dedication
Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Tuesday 1st October, 2002 |
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HMAS Westralia
Armed Merchant Cruiser - Landing Ship Infantry
1939 - 1945
HMAS Westralia was acquired by the RAN in 1939 and commissioned as an Armed Merchant Cruiser on 17 January 1940. The vessel armed with seven 6-inch guns, patrolled the sea lanes and escorted convoys of merchant ships in Australian waters, the East Indies and China Sea.
Westralia was re-commissioned as a Landing Ship Infantry (LSI) on 31 May 1943. The ship was the first Australian LSI to see action with the US Seventh Fleet at Arawe, New Britain, on 15 December 1943.
Westralia played a vital role in the landing at Hollandia (April 1944), Leyte (October 1944) and Lingayen Gulf (January 1945) with men of the US Sixth Army and the landings at Tarakan (May 1945), Brunei (June 1945) and Balikpapan (July 1945) with men of the Australian Seventh and Ninth Divisions, AIF