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HARS reunites refugees rescued by RAN officers in stormy seas

written by Adam Thorn | June 10, 2021

HARS Aviation Museum is set to host a reunion between Vietnamese refugees and RAN officers who sailed to rescue them in the South China Sea 40 years ago.

The event, on 20 June, will be the first time many of the rescuers have seen the refugees since the incident in 1981.

It has been made possible by HARS’ Carl Robinson, who worked hard to track down sailors, air crew and officers from HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Torrens.

The story began in June 1981, when a RAN Grumman S2G Tracker 851 aircraft operating off HMAS Melbourne spotted a broken-down Vietnamese refugee boat at dusk in stormy seas.

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A total of 99 Vietnamese men, women, children and infants were crammed into the 13.7-metre wooden-hulled Nghia Hung, which broke down barely a day after its departure from southern Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

It had drifted north-east for four days and was dangerously out of food and water with those onboard facing certain death.

Along with the RAN Destroyer Escort HMAS Torrens, the HMAS Melbourne launched an immediate five-hour-long rescue operation involving dozens of sailors from both ships, which brought all safely on board the aircraft carrier and given the designation Melbourne Group 99, or MG99.  Over the next five days, they were processed on-board and then disembarked in Singapore where most of them chose to come to Australia as refugees where, like so many others, they’ve had prosperous and successful lives.

Coming at the height of the Vietnamese Boat People exodus from Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon in 1975, the rescue received little publicity at the time. But the remarkably cohesive MG99 have kept in touch with the carrier’s company or officers, especially then-Supply Officer Commander John Ingram, and held two previous reunions in 2007 and 2012.

And they would’ve had another low-key reunion for this year’s 40th anniversary if not for a remarkable string of coincidences since January with the discovery at HARS of RAN Tracker 851’s remarkable story after New Zealand-based marine artist Darrell White began research on a dramatic painting of the aircraft’s sighting of the stranded refugee boat.

His brother Glenn is a volunteer at HARS and maintains Tracker 851 as one of his regular projects among the museum’s vast collection of historic commercial and military aircraft.

News of Tracker 851’s discovery at HARS touched off a very emotional visit by over 40 MG99 refugees and family in mid-March and immediate plans for a much-larger reunion at HARS on Sunday, 20 June 2021, also World Refugee Day, to pay tribute to their Australian rescuers and the community at large.

Over the past three months and working with the MG99’s organising committee, former Vietnam War correspondent and HARS Media Unit’s Carl Robinson has worked tirelessly on what he calls “Rounding up the Aussies”, and was met with remarkable success tracking down sailors, air crew and officers from the HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Torrens, including several in iconic images taken by the carrier’s on-board photographer.

Many will now be attending the 20 June reunion and for most of them the first time they’ve seen the refugees since their rescue 40 years ago. So, this should be quite an emotional event.

With musical entertainment from the RAN Band, Vietnamese-Australian string orchestra Vivello and a cultural song and dance group, the day’s colourful three-hour program will re-tell the story of the dramatic rescue of the MG99 through the words of all its participants – Australians and Vietnamese – and highlighted by the unveiling of Darrell White’s painting ‘A chance for hope’ at the end of the show. Drinks and finger food will also be served.

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Comments (5)

  • Pete

    says:

    Now we tow refugee boats back out to sea.

    How low Australia has sunk in forty years.

    • Jeff

      says:

      Do we? be more specific! Also there’s a big difference between then political refugees and now economic ones.

  • Kim Knight

    says:

    What a great story. Well done those who are making this happen.

  • Td

    says:

    Well done . Bravo Zulu to all involved. More history to link to the past. Should be a great day for all involved and a proud reunion for all the surviving members. A great reminder that we (Australia) once had an aircraft carrier for fixed wing aircraft . Thank you.

  • Graeme Bee

    says:

    The RAN family doing what they do best. BZ to all concerned.

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