St John's Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend

Courage was also shown by members of the rescue effort. On a number of occasions crew members of the search and rescue vessels courageously leapt from the boats into the oil-covered waters to pull survivors from the debris. The incident was the worst peacetime disaster in Australian maritime history and the largest loss of Australian military personnel outside of conflict. The catastrophe was subject to inquiries by two royal commissions and the exact causes of the collision and the conclusions of the two commissions are still subject to controversy. They have also been the cause of protracted compensation claims against the Commonwealth Government by survivors. Eighteen of the dead sailors were Queenslanders, one of whom was a young midshipman (an officer of the most junior rank). Franklin J Morgan perished with three other midshipmen, all recent graduates from the Naval College at Jervis Bay. Franklin’s father had been a warden at St John’s Cathedral and the Morgan family wanted to erect a permanent memorial to Franklin and to the Voyager disaster.

Damage to the bow of HMAS Melbourne (II) following the collision with HMAS Voyager (II) in 1964. A dockyard barge at Sydney’s Garden Island naval base masks the waterline and lower damage to the carrier’s stem.

Seapower Centre Australia

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