HMAS Sydney (II) was sunk on 19 November 1941 off the coast of Western Australia after a close-range engagement with the German disguised raider HSK Kormoran. All 645 men aboard were lost — there were no survivors from the Australian side. The wreck was not located until 2008, when both vessels were found within 10 nautical miles of each other, broadly confirming accounts given by Kormoran survivors who had spent decades as the only living witnesses to the engagement.
Niue has issued silver dollar pieces under a broad licensing arrangement that covers Australian naval and military commemoratives. The Sydney sinking remains the largest single loss of life in the Royal Australian Navy's history.
HMAS Sydney (II) was sunk on 19 November 1941 off the coast of Western Australia after a close-range engagement with the German disguised raider HSK Kormoran. All 645 men aboard were lost — there were no survivors from the Australian side. The wreck was not located until 2008, when both vessels were found within 10 nautical miles of each other, broadly confirming accounts given by Kormoran survivors who had spent decades as the only living witnesses to the engagement.
Niue has issued silver dollar pieces under a broad licensing arrangement that covers Australian naval and military commemoratives. The Sydney sinking remains the largest single loss of life in the Royal Australian Navy's history.