The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS WHYALLA, was commissioned at Whyalla, SA. Lady Barclay-Harvey, (wife of the Governor of South Australia, Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey), performed the launching ceremony. WHYALLA was laid down on 27 July 1940 in the Broken Hill Pty shipyard at Whyalla, and launched on 12 May 1941. She was to be called Glenelg, but that was changed to WHYALLA before completion.
The following gallantry awards were announced for HMAS PARRAMATTA, (sloop);
DSC Surgeon LEUT C.F. Harrington, RANR: DSC Commissioned Gunner A.J. Brown: DSM CPO Stoker W.O. Earl: DSM CPO Writer E. Purtell: DSM Yeoman of Signals W.J. Allsop: DSM Acting LS H.F. Bates: MID LEUT G.W. Langford: MID PO Steward J. Lewis: MID Leading Steward R.J. Brampton: MID Leading Writer S.E. Whear: MID AB C. Goldie: MID Stoker 2nd class H.C. Fox.
Unfortunately in the bitter irony of war only CPO Earl and Leading Writer Whear lived to be presented with their awards as the rest of the men were killed when HMAS PARRAMATTA was sunk off Tobruk in November 1941.