71st Commemorative Ceremony for Operation Rimau

Good morning everyone. It is my great honour to join you for the 71^st Commemoration of Operation Rimau.

Between us and the brave men of Operation Rimau lies the span of a human lifetime.

Yet their valour and their sacrifice are alive to all of us gathered here today.

23 Australian and British servicemen of the Z Special Unit departed Fremantle in September 1944 as part of Operation Rimau, a bold plan to attack Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour.

None of them came home.

We remember those who were killed in action.

We remember those who died in captivity, or were killed trying to escape.

We remember the 10 who were put on trial for espionage, found guilty and beheaded just months before the Japanese surrender in September 1945.

No Australian can read about these men who fought in our name, who suffered so terribly and died on foreign shores without feeling the weight of a debt that can never be repaid.

It is our duty to honour the 23 men who lost their lives in Operation Rimau.

It is our duty to pay our respects to the families who will forever miss their husbands, fathers, brothers and uncles.

It is our duty to make sure that the memory of their sacrifice does not fade with time.

Resourceful, brave and tenacious, the characteristics of the men of Operation Rimau are shared by those who proudly bear the title of “Commando” today.

That is their heroic legacy.

I have paid my respects at the graves of the brave men of Operation Rimau now interred with honour at Kranji Cemetery in Singapore.

Row after row of plain white headstones testifies to their sacrifice for their country.

I also acknowledge the men of Operation Rimau who have no known grave, whose last resting place is known only unto God.

I thank the members of the Australian Commando Association Queensland for their dedication to the memory of these men, and their determination to ensure that the veil of secrecy which lay over their mission does not obscure the historic truth of their service and sacrifice.

In this, I pay tribute to Keith Long, immediate past President of the Association, who passed away since we last gathered for this service.

On behalf of the people of Queensland, in whose name I am privileged to speak, I respectfully acknowledge the 23 men who served as part of the Z Special Unit who lost their lives as part of Operation Rimau, 71 years ago.

We will remember them.