HMAS Yarra was an Australian Grimsby-class steam sloop, built in 1934 at Cockatoo Island Dockyard for the Royal Australian Navy. The steel-hulled warship displaced 1,515 gross register tons, measured 79.8 metres in length, and was powered by Parsons steam turbines producing 2,000 horsepower, giving a top speed of 16.5 knots. Armed with three 4-inch guns and four 3-pounders, she carried a complement of 151 officers and men and was commanded by Captain Robert W. Rankin.
On 4 March 1942, while escorting an Allied convoy 280 miles south of Java, Yarra encountered an overwhelming Japanese force of three heavy cruisers – Atago, Takao, and Maya – and accompanying destroyers. The convoy included the transport Anking, the tanker Francol, and the minesweeper MMS-51. Ordered to scatter the convoy, Captain Rankin laid a smokescreen and deliberately engaged the enemy to protect the other ships, displaying extraordinary courage in the face of impossible odds. For over ninety minutes, Yarra fought alone before being silenced, sinking in flames beneath the waves.
Despite her sacrifice, the Japanese sank all three merchant vessels. Survivors from Francol were briefly taken aboard a Japanese ship, but many were never seen again. Fifty-seven survivors from Anking and fourteen from MMS-51 were later rescued by the Dutch steamer Tjimanok on 7 March, while HMAS Yarra’s own survivors were left adrift. Of the 151 crew, 138 became casualties. When the Dutch submarine K-11 found the survivors on 9 March, only thirteen men remained alive.