Battle for Australia Association
    The 2023 Battle for Australia Commemorations

Sydney Friday 17 February 2023 - Battle for Australia Oration by Tim Smith OAM

Please note that in the video above the animation and underwater video - is provided to Heritage NSW "courtesy: Dr Matt Carter, ARCHAEOTecnic and Tempus Archaeology".

The seventh annual Battle for Australia Oration was delivered at the Royal Automobile Club, Sydney on Friday 17 February 2023. The Oration is held each year to mark the occasion in the Second World War when Prime Minister John Curtin coined the phrase "Battle for Australia" in communicating to all Australians the dangers that lay ahead, following the Fall of Singapore.

The 2023 Battle for Australia Oration was presented by Mr Tim Smith OAM. His Oration, "The Battle for Sydney and the M24 Submarine in Sydney Waters: Recovering an Australia-Japan Shared Site of Wartime Heritage", considers the archaeological and commemorative significance of the 2006 discovery of the wreck of the M24, one of the Japanese submarines which penetrated Sydney Harbour in 1942: what has been revealed about its mission objectives and the possible fate of the crew in their final hours, as well as how the interests of the Japanese and Australian Governments have been recognised in the protection of human remains and spiritual values of this unique shared heritage site.

Mr Smith is the NSW M24 submarine site manager and the NSW Government's senior Maritime Archaeologist. Intimately involved in ongoing protection of M24 since its 2006 discovery, Mr Smith is an internationally recognised expert in submarine archaeology. He currently serves as Director, Assessments at Heritage NSW (the State Government's heritage agency) having previously served as Director of Heritage Victoria in Melbourne. He is also regarded internationally for his volunteer work on the discovery of Australia's submarine AE1 (1914) off New Guinea; the AE2 Foundation's work at the AE2 (1915) submarine site in Turkish waters; and the underwater survey of ANZAC Cove in Turkiye.

Mr Smith has received a UNESCO Award of Distinction for heritage management, and an Order of Australia (OAM) in 2017 for service to government heritage administration, volunteering, and maritime heritage.

Further Reading

Tim provided us with the following papers for online publication, just select the link to download:

Smith Tim - M24 Preliminary Archaeological Survey Report 2007

Smith Tim AIMIA bulletin - Managing the missing Japanese midget submarine M24 2008

At the Presentation