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Plaque Location
Plaque Location

Photographs supplied by Glen Yeomans

The plaque commemorates the personnel who served on H.M.A.S. Hawkesbury during World War Two.

The plaque location is indicated by the red poppy in the second image. 

H.M.A.S. Hawkesbury (K363  /F363) was a River-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Hawkesbury saw action during World War Two. She entered service with the RAN in mid-1944 and was decommissioned in 1955.

After conducting trials off the Australian east coast she proceeded to New Guinea to undertake convoy escort duties. She escorted convoys in the South West Pacific Area until December when she returned to Brisbane.

H.M.A.S. Hawkesbury began her second operational deployment in January 1945, and conducted escort duties in New Guinea and Phillipine waters until mid-April. On 27 April, she formed part of the escort for the convoy that landed Australian troops at Tarakan on 1 May. Hawkesbury provided fire support for the landing force until 7 May. After another period of escort duties, H.M.A.S. Hawkesbury took part in the Australian Brunei Bay landings in Borneo in June. In July she spent a period collecting intelligence in the Maluku Islands  and established lighthouses with HMAS Cape Leeuwin to open a route between Darwin and Morotai.. She returned to Sydney in July for a short refit.

Following the surrender of Japan, Hawkesbury escorted the repatriation transport Duntroon to Singapore in August. After escorting the transport to Darwin she took part in the Japanese surrender ceremony at Koepang, Timor on 3 October. 

The frigate received three battle honours for her wartime service: "Pacific 1944–45", "New Guinea 1944", and "Borneo 1945".

 

Location

Address:Fairbairn & Limestone Avenues, Behind Captain Reg Saunders Courtyard, Australian War Memorial, Campbell, 2612
State:ACT
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -35.280105
Long: 149.148335
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
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:Wednesday 5th March, 2008
Front Inscription

H.M.A.S. Hawkesbury

River Class Frigate

New Guinea  Philippines  Borneo

H.M.A.S. Hawkesbury was the only Australian warship present at the surrender of Singapore in September 1945 and escorted returning Australian prisoners of war in the ships Duntroon, Arawa and Highland Chieftain.

In memory of all who served

Lest We Forget

 

 

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