I rise today to acknowledge a little-known but deeply significant chapter in our region's history: the 1954 Stockton Bight disaster. On 8 March 1954, during a routine national service training exercise, 184 young servicemen were involved in an operation that ended in tragedy. Three lives were lost. It was a moment that profoundly affected all who were there. A convoy of 20 amphibious vehicles was travelling from Camp Shortland to Morna Point for a routine landing exercise, but, as they crossed the Stockton Bight, conditions deteriorated rapidly. Heavy seas overwhelmed the convoy and eight vehicles sank. Three young men lost their lives. These were Australians who had answered their country's call to national service. They trained with courage and commitment and on that day, in dangerous and unpredictable conditions, endured an experience that stayed with them for the rest of their lives.

Today, fewer than 10 of those surviving servicemen remain with us. Thanks to the work of local historian Jacob Ure, who documented the survivors' accounts, these stories will be preserved. On 8 March, the remaining survivors will gather to honour those who were lost and those who served alongside them. It is fitting that this parliament recognises the service, resilience and mateship of this unit. To the surviving national servicemen: we thank you, we see you and we honour your memory. Lest we forget.