A small ship, but a big act. RIP the crew of HMAS Yarra.
'On the 4th of March 1942, HMAS Yarra (II) (a 1050 ton Grimspy class sloop) was sunk by a force of Japanese cruisers and destroyers whilst attempting to protect ships withdrawing to Australia from Batavia. At 0630 on the fateful day the lookout in Yarra sighted the topmasts of a Japanese fleet the north east which were identified as the Japanese heavy cruisers Atago, Takao and Maya and four other destroyers.
'As the fleet scattered, Yarra positioned herself between the fleet and the enemy and prepared to engage them with her 4-inch guns. Each Japanese cruiser had ten 8-inch guns. Against such fire power and superior range, Yarra’s defence was hopeless but she kept fighting until 0800 when the captain ordered the ship to be abandoned minutes before he was killed by a final salvo.
'Her end after close range shelling by two destroyers was watched by 34 survivors on two rafts. The survivors, sadly reduced by wounds, exposure and thirst, continued to drift helplessly whither the ocean currents willed. On 9 March 1942, 13 of the ship’s ratings were picked up by the Dutch submarine K11. The rest were never heard of again. Of Yarra's total complement of 151, 138 including the Captain and all officers were killed in the action or died subsequently on the rafts.
'In March 2013, Governor-General Quentin Bryce announced that a Unit Citation for Gallantry would be retroactively awarded to the ship's company of Yarra at the time of her sinking. This was presented to the Chief of Navy and the ship's company of the minehunter HMAS Yarra (III), on the River Yarra, on 4 March 2014, the anniversary of the sloop Yarra's loss.'