ADDRESS

presented by

ANNA BLIGH MP

PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND

at

THE HOSPITAL SHIP CENTAUR – NATIONAL SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING AND REMEMBRANCE

on

Tuesday 2 March, 2010

11.00 AM, St John’s Cathedral

Ann Street, Brisbane

Acknowledgements

Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia

Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley AO, Governor of Queensland and Mr Stuart McCosker

The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister of Australia

Senator the Honourable George Brandis SC, Senator for Queensland representing the Opposition

Mr Martin Pash, AHS Centaur Survivor

Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie AO DSC CSM, Australian Defence Force

Vice Admiral Russell Crane AO DSC RAN, Royal Australian Navy

Air Commodore Mark Gower OAM (Retd), representing the Royal Australian Air Force

Distinguished guests

Families and friends of the AHS Centaur

Background

The theme of the speech, ‘remembering the beautiful lives lost’ is taken from a tribute written by former school mates at Presbyterian Ladies College for Margaret Lamont Adams, one of the Centaur nurses, who was aged 29 when she was killed at sea:

Sister Adams had all the training and equipment of a highly qualified nurse but possessed, in addition, high courage and a strong and enduring faith. … Her loss comes with peculiar poignancy … she has left to a wide circle of friends the priceless memory of a beautiful life. [Source: Patchwork, July 1943, magazine of the Presbyterian Ladies College, Melbourne]

Margaret Adams was one of twelve nurses from the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) who served on the Centaur.

Only one of the nurses survived, Sister Ellen Savage. Despite her own injuries, 30-year-old Sister Ellen Savage nursed the wounded and boosted the morale of the others. She was awarded the George Medal for courage.

NB: The speechwriter consulted the Centaur Association in the course of drafting the speech.

Today is a day for remembrance and for gratitude.

We come together as a nation to remember and to honour all the beautiful lives lost on the hospital ship Centaur, on that fateful day in May,1943.

We also come together in gratitude to offer a collective thank you to those who never gave up on the Centaur, in particular, the Centaur Association members and supporters.

We remember and we honour today the magnificent potential of 268 lives cut short.

Their ages ranged from just 15 to 67.

On board were at least eight sets of brothers, including one set of three – all perished.

Lost with them were their dreams and hopes, their grand ambitions and their humble desires.

Never lost nor forgotten are the precious memories of all the beautiful lives they lived.

Your dearly held memories of the larrikins and the fun-loving, of dedicated nurses and doctors, merchant seaman, firemen, orderlies, stewards and cooks.

Centaur's sinking and the subsequent loss of so many lives rightfully outraged the nation.

It was the subject of rallying cries when all-but one of the 12 nurses on board was killed.

“Avenge the nurses” posters were everywhere. They were used to raise funds for war loans.

Commemorative posters and postal stamps have since been linked to the sinking and such was the community response here in Queensland in 1948, the State's nurses established the "Centaur Memorial Fund for Nurses" which raised money to establish "Centaur House" - a facility providing accommodation for out-of-town nurses.

For 67 years those of you who were left behind did all that you could do.

You waited, wondered, grieved and remembered your loved ones – the lost men and women of the Centaur.

And, while there was never going to be a happy ending to this story, finally, there is comfort, and hopefully some healing to be had.

Comfort in knowing at last where your loved ones’ final resting place lies and that the site will be protected.

Be assured too, that the supreme sacrifice they paid while on a mission of mercy, will never be forgotten.

The well of our gratitude for that special generation of Australians will never run dry.

In 1943, when the Centaur was sunk, a shocked nation grieved with you.

Today the thoughts of a nation once more are with you.

Today we take time out to pay due respects to brave Australian sons and daughters – non-combatants who did their country proud.

The Queensland Government, like all those who has been involved in the search for the Centaur, feels privileged to have been able to play its part in bringing peace and comfort to the Centaur families and friends.

We join search director, David Mearns in sincerely thanking and congratulating those who so tirelessly campaigned for this quest from the very beginning.

It’s been a long, hard journey, but it’s been for a supremely worthy cause – the quest for peace.

Now all wondering can cease and we can simply remember them.