HMAS Perth wreck being destroyed by scavengers

[Road_Warrior]

And I'm not talking about the dive wreck off Albany either. It's the HMAS Perth that was sunk in battle with the Japanese in February 1942:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-1...vagers/5156320

Reports suggest that a commercial-scale salvage operator has basically raped the wreck on HMAS Perth, removing its superstructure and turrets presumably to sell off all the steel for scrap.

How is it that a war grave is able to be destroyed like this? There are dead Australian servicemen in that shipwreck - hundreds of them. If this was Gallipoli there would be outrage.

[rayner22]

How the hell can Perth not have been listed as a war grave by the Australian government?

If the government have never applied for her to be a war grave they are just as much to blame as the actual salvagers themselves. If she is indeed not listed as a war grave as that report says, then sadly under international law she is not protected!!

If Perth isn't saved, what are the odds that Sydney will be the next to be salvaged.... If the government does nothing about Perth, it will open the door for every salvager without a conscience to rape every Australian warship on the ocean floor. It's obviously been going on for a fair while if most / all of Perth's superstructure is gone.

[rayner22]

This is the most worrying part:

''But any protection of the wreck or recovery of remains by Australian authorities relies on cooperation with the Indonesian government.

Officials in the departments of defence, the environment and veterans affairs have encouraged those who know about the issue to keep it quiet because of the ongoing diplomatic row between Canberra and Jakarta.

The HMAS Perth National Association is one such organisation which has been asked not to comment on the situation.

One Defence official reported recently by email.

"Navy is aware of the situation and have put up/are putting up a brief to the Minister. There are obviously limits to what Australia can do in someone else's territorial waters, so it will presumably come down to approaches to various Indonesian counterparts for their assistance."
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/20314555/...-by-salvagers/

I can imagine the response from the U.S if it turns out Houston is being salvaged too.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by rayner22

I can imagine the response from the U.S if it turns out Houston is being salvaged too.

I was wondering about that too. I bet the US State Department wouldn't be scurrying around trying to bury the issue like our bureaucrats have been. Shameful.

[Bill M]

Hopefully the USS Houston will bring the this issue to the attention of the US govt in on this and prod the Indonesian authorities to stop this desecration of what is a war grave.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by rayner22

How the hell can Perth not have been listed as a war grave by the Australian government?

.... If the government does nothing about Perth, it will open the door for every salvager without a conscience to rape every Australian warship on the ocean floor.

The door has been open for years, until Australia (and Indo) get of their **** it's perfectly legal for anyone to help themselves....

Australia and Indonesia are yet to ratify the UNESCO Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage, a binding national treaty which would oblige both countries to protect such sites.

[FormulaFG]

Yet another example of why our relationship with Indonesia is a one way street. We would never let something like that happen if it was the other way around.

How hard up for a buck would you need to be to stoop to this level!?

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by rayner22

If Perth isn't saved, what are the odds that Sydney will be the next to be salvaged....

Sydney is protected.

This is I believe the last recorded state of Perth prior to this event:

http://www.perthone.com/images/wrk-perdraw.jpg
http://www.perthone.com/pwre.html

The Australian government's record on Perth has been appalling. The last battle was an episode of extraordinary heroism, yet a Dutch award after the war was turned down because it was not "British" and now the efforts to get a posthumous VC for Waller seem to have stalled. How hard is that really? Rooks on Houston got a posthumous Congressional medal of honour.

The US government has obtained war grave status for Houston but not so the Australian government for Perth. The whole thing has been shameful for a long time. Probably one of Australia's bravest military actions basically swept under the carpet. What an insult to those who died and the survivors.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by new2ford

Sydney is protected.

This is I believe the last recorded state of Perth prior to this event:

http://www.perthone.com/images/wrk-perdraw.jpg
http://www.perthone.com/pwre.html

The Australian government's record on Perth has been appalling. The last battle was an episode of extraordinary heroism, yet a Dutch award after the war was turned down because it was not "British" and now the efforts to get a posthumous VC for Waller seem to have stalled. How hard is that really? Rooks on Houston got a posthumous Congressional medal of honour.

The US government has obtained war grave status for Houston but not so the Australian government for Perth. The whole thing has been shameful for a long time. Probably one of Australia's bravest military actions basically swept under the carpet. What an insult to those who died and the survivors.

Great link thanks for that. The Indonesian scuba diver (dunno if it is the same one) now says that Perth is now basically a flat deck, all turrets are gone as is the superstructure.

This really angers me. This was my grandfather's ship (well, one of them). Ok he wasnt on it when it was sunk, but he would have known the blokes who were.