TWO sisters whose father died in the Wollongbar II sinking have paid tribute to the Mid North Coast Maritime Museum.
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Georgina Green and Patty McNamara were six and 10 respectively when they lost their father James Alfred Knight, nicknamed Tubby, on April 29, 1943.
He was aboard board the coastal freighter, Wollongbar II, which was attacked by a Japanese submarine off Point Plomer.
Tubby, a merchant navy member, didn’t make it home.
Mrs McNamara remembers her father as an affectionate person.
“He was always a soft, lovely man,” she said.
Mrs Green and Mrs McNamara attended the museum’s open day yesterday to mark the 70th anniversary of the sinking of the Wollongbar II.
The open day was part of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Heritage Festival.
The second edition of a book by Lynda Turner and Ray Cooper on the sinking of the Wollongbar II was also launched yesterday.
Five Wollongbar II crew members survived and 32 died.
Word soon reached Port Macquarie about the attack and a fishing trawler, the XLCR, rescued the survivors.
Six XLCR crew members were awarded with bravery medals.
The museum has information, memorabilia and artefacts relating to the sinking of the Wollongbar II.
Mrs Green said the museum, complete with its cottages, was a credit to the volunteers.
People flocked to yesterday’s open day.