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HMAS Sydney II Memorial - Geraldton, WA.

Dome Seagulls in section of the Dome Ships Prow Waiting Woman In December 1941 the Australian modified-Leander class light cruiser HMAS Sydney sank in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia after an action with the German raider Kormoran. The entire crew of 645 was lost with the ship. Loss of an entire crew with not a single survivor is unusual, made more noteworthy by the fact that weather conditions were suitable for survival after the ship sank. HMAS Sydney had recently returned to Australian waters after very successful service in the Mediterranean and she was well-known to the public. Her loss without survivors in unknown circumstances was a national catastrophe. A memorial to HMAS Sydney II has been built on a hill overlooking central Geraldton. The memorial centre-piece, visible from Geraldton's main streets below, is a dome made up of 645 stainless steel seagulls commemorating each of the lost crew members. The concept of using seagull images to represent the lost crew arose when a flock of seagulls swooped over the site at sunset and while the Last Post was being sounded during the Memorial Site Dedication Ceremony on 19 November 1998. In some mythologies seagulls are believed to be the souls of lost sailors. Beneath the dome lies a circular sanctuary floor of Western Australian granite. The dome sits on seven pillars representing the national purpose of this monument - based on the seven points in the Commonwealth Star in the National Flag. Near the dome is a tall, narrow representation of a ships prow. This is based on the symbolism of standing stones as grave markers and serves as a visual marker for the site visible from many kilometres away. Separate from the dome and prow, but still part of the memorial, is a life size bronze statue of the 'Waiting Woman' representing women who lost a husband, son or brother in HMAS Sydney. She is leaning into the wind, holding her hat in place, while looking into the sky. Behind the Waiting Woman is the Wall of Remembrance which is a semi-circular wall faced with black granite engraved with the names of all 645 officers and men lost in the cruiser. The exterior of the wall is covered with low relief emblems of the sea. Part of the Wall of Remembrance can be seen in the left background behind the bronze figure in the photograph of the Waiting Woman. At the entrance to the memorial area, historical photographs of Sydney's crew add a sense of human reality to the memorial. (The designation II after the ship's name indicates this was the second ship in the Royal Australian Navy to carry the name SYDNEY.)

Information. ¶   Explanatory signage at the memorial.

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