Hec Waller Memorial

Hector MacDonald Laws (Hec) Waller: DSO, and BAR, RAN was hailed as ‘one of the finest captains who ever sailed the seas’. Hec Waller had a distinguished naval career that culminate in him being lost at sea in 1942.

Hec joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1913, was awarded the Kings Medal in 1917, and rose through the ranks to captain at the start of WWII.

He was awarded two Distinguished Service Orders (DSO) in less than a year for his role in battles and took command of the cruiser HMAS Perth in 1941.

A lasting memorial to Hec Waller was unveiled in March 2010. featuring a granite base with bronze swirl, depicting the disturbance made by a ship sinking below the water. A brass sailors and captains cap are partially submerged in the rock with remembrance poppies not only in honour of Captain Waller, but to others lost at sea.