HMAS SYDNEY'S FIRST NAVAL VICTORY

Image: Captain John Glossop, HMAS Sydney

Soon after Australia declared war on Germany, the German ship Emden attacked a wireless station on Direction Island in the Cocos Keeling Islands on 9 November 1914.

HMAS Sydney, commanded by Captain John Glossop, was sent to investigate the presence of the German cruiser off the Cocos Islands.

In the battle that followed the Emden fired on Sydney killing four sailors and wounding sixteen. However using its superior range and firepower, the Sydney drove the Emden aground in an engagement that left 134 German sailors dead and 69 wounded.

Glossop then ordered Sydney to chase the Buresk, the collier boat for the Emden, successfully sinking her and rescuing the crew.

The Sydney then returned to the Emden which showed no signs of surrendering despite being beached on North Keeling Island. However the Emden ran up a white sheet of surrender after the Sydney fired two salvos.

The Emden’s remaining crew were taken on board the Sydney and transported to Malta where they were handed over to British authorities.

Captain Glossop was regarded as a humane man. Firing on the disabled Emden before its surrender caused him to remark "it almost made me feel like a murderer".

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands Tourism Association has commemorated the centenary of the Battle of Cocos Islands with a memorial to the Sydney and the Emden. The Association received a $39,000 grant from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for the project.