Radar Station
THE secret war history of Cape Otway's radar station is fascinating. The existence of the Radar Station built at Cape Otway is such a well-kept secret there are no known photographs of the bunker, which was manned by Victorian RAAF personnel.
The events that led to the building of the bunker are hugely significant in terms of Australian and American war history. The radar station was built in 1942 after the US steamship SS City of Rayville sank off Cape Otway.
The Rayville was struck by one of 40 mines laid by the Passat off Cape Otway. More than 100 mines were laid in key areas of Bass Strait. As the Rayville began to sink the Lightstation raised the alarm on November 8, 1940, and Apollo Bay fishermen rescued 37 crew members, but one man was lost. He became the first US merchant navy casualty of World War Two.
So the story of the Rayville and the Lightstation's involvement in World War Two sheds light on two little known chapters of American and Australian war history. Contemporary Lightstation manager Paul Thompson said: "Very few people realise the Germans came down this far south, or that they successfully sank three ships in Bass Strait."
"The Germans pirated a Norwegian merchant trading vessel called the Storstad off the coast of north western Australia and turned it into a mine layer and renamed it Passat." The radar station is undergoing a $20,000 restoration and Mr Thompson is desperate to track down as much history and information possible so it can be included in the project.
"Now after almost 60 years the Radar Station at Cape Otway, one of only four built on Victoria's southern coast, is being preserved and we want to interpret its little-known history," he said. "The station is one of the best remaining examples of this secretive war effort." The other radar stations were at Wilsons Promontory, Metung & Gabo Island. The project includes a new disability-friendly access track, plus a new look-out tower. Anyone with information on the station's history can contact the Lightstation Manager.
Long before Darwin attack our coast was a battleground - The Age, 4th April 2009