Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is soon to meet President Donald Trump aboard the WWll aircraft carrier USS Intrepid , part of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea celebrations . When the two gather they will undoubtedly , justifiably, speak of the historic maritime battle, said to have been the greatest ever , and the part played by both countries. However, in Townsville, the large garrison town lapped by the Coral Sea , in a prime waterfront position, sits the neglected, rusting anchor from an American aircraft carrier, the USS Coral Sea , presented to Australia to mark the 50th anniversary of the massive sea battle which had a major affect on the Japanese advance .
Commissioned in 1947 , the USS Coral Sea , a Midway Class carrier , above, was so named to commemorate the Coral Sea Battle . The anchor from it , a gift from America to the Townsville City Council , was presented on May 8 1992 by the Commander of the US 7th Fleet and former commanding officer of the USS Coral Sea , Vice Admiral Stanley R. Arthur.The memorial was erected by the Townsville City Council and the Townsville Port Authority .
With the efflux of time , details of the presentation are almost illegible on the smaller plaque , above , which contains the presentation details . The larger plaque , below, installed by the Townsville Port Authority , commemorates the role of the port in defence of Australia in two World Wars and is also in an unsatisfactory condition.
Patches of rust are visible through the white coating of the anchor .
Patches of rust are visible through the white coating of the anchor .
That this situation has been allowed to continue in a military garrison city is hard to understand . The anchor is in a position not far from where Townsville Enterprise Limited was based - in the so called Enterprise House- until it moved on to some other hub-but apparently nobody from that organisation, the Townsville City Council and the Townsville Port A uthority seemed to notice that the anchor in its present state , evident over years , was not a good look for the city , insulting to the Americans , Australians and others who fought in that Coral Sea epic , and should be rectified ASAP.
This blog raised the neglect of the memorial on May 4, 2015, the 73rd anniversary of the battle , headed CORAL SEA BATTLE ANNIVERSARY BOMBS OUT, saying it was a Townsville disgrace.
At the time , it pointed out the Murdoch Townsville Bulletin marked the occasion with a report about a ceremony at Cardwell , saying "600 American and Australian soldiers" had fallen in the battle. A reader responded by saying his father had been in the Coral Sea Battle aboard HMAS Australia, which involved sailors, not soldiers.
Our post , on a vital local issue , sank without trace . It seems you need to deliver a broadside like a battleship with the fire power of the USS Missouri's 16 inch guns on the local media and other organisations before they understand the significance of high explosive incoming mail .
At the weekend , there has been another Coral Sea Battle commemoration at Cardwell ; the Townsville Bulletin , still unaware of the sorry state of the Coral Sea anchor and plaques , because it is obviously out of touch with its own patch and appears to have run aground , ran a two page historical feature about the battle .
LATEST UPDATE
When a special dawn ceremony was held in Townsville's Anzac Park at the above "official Coral Sea Battle memorial " , on May 1, wreaths were laid , this was the scene, below, soon after at the nearby Coral Sea anchor ... not one wreath .
You can bet your last Yankee dollar, had the Americans been made aware by Townsville 's protocol and venue team that there was a special memorial in the city, centred around an anchor from a US Navy aircraft carrier , to mark the 50th anniversary , that it would have been the subject of at least one floral tribute , perhaps a special ceremony .
At the nearby official ceremony , the fountain marking the centenary of Queensland breaking away from the colony of New South Wales was still not working . However , several Kenny type portable toilets were strategically placed nearby should the need arise for a water display .
A further ceremony was performed on the flight deck of HMAS Choules off Townsville where some of the dignitaries from the dawn service were choppered in , wreaths thrown into the Coral Sea . Those involved included the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove, Minister for Defence Marise Payne , Tadayuki Miyashita , representing the Japanese Ambassador to Australia and Amanda Rishworth MP, representing the Leader of the Opposition , Bill Shorten .
UPCOMING : Other Townsville port issues.
At the nearby official ceremony , the fountain marking the centenary of Queensland breaking away from the colony of New South Wales was still not working . However , several Kenny type portable toilets were strategically placed nearby should the need arise for a water display .
A further ceremony was performed on the flight deck of HMAS Choules off Townsville where some of the dignitaries from the dawn service were choppered in , wreaths thrown into the Coral Sea . Those involved included the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove, Minister for Defence Marise Payne , Tadayuki Miyashita , representing the Japanese Ambassador to Australia and Amanda Rishworth MP, representing the Leader of the Opposition , Bill Shorten .
