South West Life

In October 1941, just two weeks before it went missing in action, the HMAS Sydney made a surprise visit to Bunbury. Not only did it give locals a rare treat, but it allowed a young crewmember from Bunbury to catch up with his family and friends.

During the war, the saying "loose lips sink ships" was taken literally. Unlike today, warship movements were not advertised or discussed for security reasons, and the general public was certainly never given any warning of the impending arrival of a ship.

And so it was an unexpected sight for some residents and high school students one day when, from the high school on top of the hill, they spotted the imposing outline of the Sydney on the horizon, anchored off shore.

News spread quickly, for the Sydney was a high profile ship at the time. It had recently been in the news for it's victory against the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni - an encounter in the Mediterranean Sea which left the Sydney with shell damage and the Bartolomeo Colleoni at the bottom of the sea. To now have this glamour ship of the Australian Navy turn up unexpectedly in Bunbury was a source of great excitement for many people.

After a while the Sydney entered the Bunbury harbour and moored at the jetty. Word got out in the school grounds that the Sydney had docked, and as soon as the school bell rang at the end of the day, kids raced down to the harbour to join the public for a closer look.

Amazingly, despite all the security surrounding it's visit, some of the general public were in fact allowed onto the Sydney to have a look around. School children in particular were treated to a memorable visit, being allowed to crawl all over it and check out all the guns, torpedoes, and even an onboard reconnaissance aircraft. It's reported that there was a line of kids queuing to get onboard for a look.

Meanwhile, the Sydney's crew were let loose on Bunbury.

Among them was a local lad by the name of Ernie Greenmount (also known as Ernest Gronberg), the only Bunbury crewmember on the ship. The stopover allowed him to catch up with his parents (Carl and Emily), and his brother and sisters. Ernie was the youngest of 8 children in the family, and it was no doubt a very happy moment to have him back in the household, even if only for a brief time.

The Sydney only stayed 2 days. She left early in the morning on 29 October, taking young Ernie Greenmount with her. Two weeks later she was lost at sea during a battle with the Kormoran. All 645 crewmembers were lost.

Photos provided by www.hmassydney.com.au