St John's Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend

One of the realities of life for Australian Defence Force personnel is that death and injury occur not only in wartime but also in peacetime. Military training and manoeuvres in peacetime can bring their own risks but also produce outstanding acts of courage and heroism. St John’s Cathedral displays a memorial which attests to this fact. On the south wall of the Cathedral Oratory (place of prayer) is a crucifix of unusual and original design. Christ’s body hangs with head bowed in suffering and in death as if on a cross, though the cross itself is not featured.The crucifix carries special signficance for it was given as a memorial to a young Queenslander who was lost in the Voyager disaster. The tragedy involved two Australian warships: HMAS Voyager (II) (D04), a Daring- Class destroyer, and HMAS Melbourne (II) (R21), the Navy’s aircraft carrier and fleet flagship. On the night of 10 February 1964 the ships were sailing together on manoeuvres off the NSW coast, some 32 kilometres south- east of Jervis Bay. The night was almost windless, clear and moonless, with a slight swell. Both the carrier and destroyer were ‘darkened’ with only navigational/operational lighting in use. Suddenly, and inexplicably, at 8.56 pm the Voyager turned into the path of the Melbourne , which collided with the destroyer, slicing it in half, the bow section sinking quickly, the stern some hours later.

This crucified figure of Christ, which hangs on the south wall of the Cathedral Oratory, was given in honour of Franklin Morgan, a young Queensland midshipman who was killed in the HMAS Voyager II disaster of 1964.

Aimee Catt

A terrible roar of crunching metal accompanied the disaster. Men in Voyager were thrown around the ship, many were crushed and others were drowned as the seawater rushed in. Immediate and intensive rescue efforts were put in place and 232 sailors were saved. But 82 men from the ship lost their lives, including the commanding officer, and only three bodies were recovered. The tragedy deeply affected the survivors—many suffered afterwards from post-traumatic stress. Speaking in 2015 to the City South News , the Commanding Officer, Naval Headquarters, South Queensland, Commander Peter Tedman, said “We have to remember there were incredible acts of bravery on the night HMAS Voyager (II) was hit, with people putting themselves in danger to save their mates and if that’s not the Anzac spirit I’m not sure what is.” Chief Petty Officer Jonathan Rogers of Voyager was posthumously awarded the George Cross for his actions after the collision. Rogers was in the forward section of the ship with 50 to 60 sailors, many of them young ratings on their first posting at sea. Realising he was too large to pass through the escape hatch he helped many of those who could to escape and then remained with those trapped in the ship, leading them in a prayer and a hymn as they died.

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