Cities Service Boston Memorial – Bass Point

This memorial remembers the Australian Soldiers who lost their lives going to the aid of sailors on the American Merchant Ship City Services Boston that ran into the rocks at Bass Point during a storm in May 1943.

During World War II, the US tanker Cities Service Boston ran aground off Bass Point in huge seas during a violent storm (16 May 1943).

Thirty-five soldiers from the 6 Machine Gun Battalion (AIF) arrived at the Bass Point site around 10.30am to commence the rescue of the ship’s 62 men (the 6 Machine Gun Battalion was in training nearby).

One Australian soldier swam out to the ship in dangerous seas to get a rope and buoy that was thrown overboard by the crew. The men then stood on the rocks and held the rope taut while the crew slid along the rope to the shore.

The rocks were slippery and the men were often knocked over by the raging seas. At 3.00pm and with only five more crew-members to be rescued, a huge wave swept 10 rescuers off the rocks, four of whom drowned.

A memorial was erected in 1968 by the 6 Machine Gun Battalion in memory of the four soldiers who lost their lives. A memorial service is held annually on the third Sunday in May.