Historical Specifics: |
Captain S Benson and crew of the corvette HMAS Kiama secured two of these guns from Wewak in New Guinea, towards the end of World War II specially to present them to the town after which their ship had been named. The mayor, Alderman W R Holden, accepted both guns on behalf of the citizens of Kiama from Lieutenant Commander Godden in February 1946.
On the day of the presentation, the guns were rolled up the street from the wharf to the Council Chambers, however, they were put in ‘storage’ for many years until public agitation caused council to put them on public display as was originally intended. One of the guns had, by this time, deteriorated to the point that it could not be exhibited 1.
1 Website, The People's Voice, Australian Community History Online, Kiama. Information supplied for this project through Mr Peter Stuckey. |