The Chapel of Our Lady Star of the Sea was designed by PJ O'Connor and Brophy and built by WA Medbury as a memorial to 'those men of the Royal Australian Navy who gave their lives in World War I and II'. The Foundation stone was blessed the Melbourne's Archbishop, the Most Rev. D. Mannix DD, LLD, on 6 October 1946. The builder ordered windows from Brooks, Robinson & Co. in March 1948, most to be made of 'amber quarries with a green outside border and a ruby inner border' with emblems inset, as was the case for this group in the north nave that each measured approximately 63 x 19 inches.
HMAS Yarra, named after Melbourne's major river, was a Grimsby class sloop commissioned at Cockatoo Island, Sydney in 1936. It received battle honours for service in Libya 1941, where it formed part of the vital Tobruk Ferry Service, and then the East Indies in 1942. It was re-assigned to Southeast Asia after the Japanese entered the war and undertook sterling duty escorting convoys, including the last to enter Singapore before that island was captured in February 1942. It was sunk by Japanese cruisers on 4 March 1942 with only a handful of survivors. In March 2013, the Governor-General of Australia , Quentin Bryce announced a Unit Citation for Gallantry would be awarded to the ship's company at the time of the sinking.
Surgeon Lieutenant Walter Mario Butler MB BS, born on 20 December 1900, was appointed to te Royal Australian Navy for a period of three years from August 1937 with service at HMAS Cerberus, followed by periods at Swan, Penguin and Moresby before returning to HMAS Penguin. With Australia at war, his appointment was extended for another two years from 1940, however by August the same year, Bultler was reported to be 'dangerously ill' and by October, with his condition worsening, he was transferred to St. Vincent's Private Hospital in Sydney. He died of illness on 15 January 1947 and was buried at Melbourne General Cemetery in Victoria.
References & Acknowledgements
AWM Roll of Honour; NAA: A6769, Butler WM.
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