Captain Mark Bingley & Trooper Joshua PorterPrint Page

The plaque commemorates Captain Mark Bingley and Trooper Joshua Porter who were killed in an aircraft accident during "Operation Quickstep" in November 2006. The plaque is located on a wall behind the Cenotaph. 

Operation Quickstep was the name given to the deployment of military resources by the Australian Defence Force during the leadup to the 2006 Fijian coup d'état on 4-5 December 2006, during which the Fijian military took control of the Fijian government which, at the time, was led by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. The intention behind deploying the military resources was to provide a platform for the evacuation of Australian citizens and nationals in the event of a violent military takeover of the Pacific nation.

On 29 November 2006, a S-70 Blackhawk operating from Kanimbla crashed while attempting to land on the ship's deck, falling overboard and sinking in 2-3 kilometres of water. Nine of the ten crewmembers were rescued, with one, the pilot Captain Mark Bingley, dying from injuries. The tenth crewmember was lost, and was declared dead several days later.  On 6 March 2007, the Minister for Defence, Brendan Nelson, announced that the Defence Maritime Services vessel MV Seahorse Standard had recovered the missing body from a depth of approximately 2,900 metres.

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