HMAS AE1 Reception

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

A short reception at the Australian National Maritime Museum took place on the evening of the 12th March to present the findings of the expedition to the descendants of the 35 crewmen aboard AE1 at the time of her loss, the naval community, members of partner organisations and corporate sponsors.

The Minister for Defence, Senator Marise Payne, PNG Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Rimbik Pato OBE, and Chief of Navy, VADM Tim Barrett each made a short address followed by the presentation of findings from the expedition by Rear Admiral Peter Briggs RAN Rtd and an incredibly moving speech by Vera Ryan, descendant and representative of the AE1 crew descendants association.

The presentations were followed by a meet and greet session in an exhibition space with information on the story of AE1 and the recent discovery. The display included, in large format, the photomosaic of the site produced with the imagery captured by Fugro. On show was also the ceremonial axe that launched both AE1 and AE2.

Project Partners & Sponsors

Sponsorship

SWF founder and director John Mullen, as well as sponsoring the search personally, engaged his SWF team, in association with the Australian National Maritime Foundation, in a fundraising initiative during the lead up to the December 2017 search, gaining the generous support of corporate organisations and private sponsors. John and SWF would like to extend the deepest appreciation to all those who supported the search for a vessel of such extreme national significance. The project would, simply put, not have been possible without your support – thank you.