70th Anniversary of the Wreck of Cities Service Boston

Thursday 16 May marked the 70th anniversary of the wreck of the Cities Service Boston at Bass Point. A memorial service was held on Sunday 19 May at the wreck site with last surviving member of the rescue crew from the 6^th Machine Gun Battalion, Mick Wilkinson attended the ceremony with friends and family.

The United States tanker Cities Service Boston ran aground at Shellharbour in1943. It was it a convoy of ships sailing close to the coast following reports of Japanese subs in the area during WWII.

Despite the very rough seas, soldiers from the 6th Australian Machine Gun Battalion AIF who were camped at Kembla Grange, rescued the entire 62 American crew, with the tragic loss of four Australian rescue soldiers. The men who lost their lives that day were Sgt W F Allen, Pte G W Pitt, Pte R J Snell and Pte B H Symons.

A memorial dedicated to their bravery on the 8th September 1968 stands on the northern side of Bass Point.

                                    

The tanker was sold for salvage to several companies, including Port Kembla Steelworks. Copper pipes and brass fittings were the first to be removed. Salvage operations on the wreck took over ten years to complete.

Wreck of the Cities Service Boston 1943
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries

Wreck of the Cities Service Boston c.1950
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries

Remains of the propeller from Cities Service Boston 1957
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries

Deck of the Cities Service Boston during salvage c.1950
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries