Description

Ordinary Seaman Sheean is the first and only member of the Royal Australian Navy to be awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia. The award was given posthumously by Queen Elizabeth II in 2020. While serving on board HMAS Armidale in December 1942, the ship came under aerial attack from Japanese aircraft. Ordinary Seaman Sheean helped free a life raft, allowing his shipmates to escape the sinking ship, before he returned to the ship’s Oerlikon gun and fired at the enemy, hitting at least two of their aircraft. Despite being wounded in the chest and back, the 18 year old strapped himself to the gun and continued firing until the ship sank, taking him to his death. The life sized statue, unveiled by Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond on 11-11-24, was funded by the Tasmanian Government and Latrobe Council and created by international sculptors, Gillie and Marc. The statue design, led by Latrobe Council, included consultation with Mr Ivory, the Executive of the Latrobe RSL and military uniform expert John Berryman. The memorial and other sculptures by Stephen Walker, were originally commissioned and revealed in 1992. Ordinary Seaman Sheean’s service is commemorated in a number of other ways in the local area including the Sheean Walk by the Mersey River