Push for memorial to two men killed in sea mine tragedy on home soil

Family of seaman killed in WWII tragedy on home soil in SA seek new memorial Mon 10 Aug 2026 at 7:04am In short: The family of Able Seaman Thomas Todd, killed at Beachport in 1941 by a German sea mine, are seeking a permanent memorial in Port Adelaide. Eighty-five years after the tragic event, which also killed William (Bill) Danswan, the Todd family says the story is not well known. What's next? The family, along with volunteers and friends, says a renewed push for a memorial is "in the works" after the City of Port Adelaide and Enfield rejected a 2021 application. Deb Filippone remembers the piece of worn, dark metal the size of a saucer her father would lay in her hand as a child when he spoke of her grandfather. "Over the years, I've held that shrapnel and wondered what kind of man he was, and how things could have been so much different," she said. The shrapnel is part of a German-laid sea mine that exploded and killed Able Seamen (AS) Thomas Todd, 30, and William (Bill) Danswan, 23, in 1941 at Rivoli Bay in Beachport, south-eastern South Australia. The incident marked the first deaths of Australians on home soil from enemy action as the pair worked to decommission the mine. Eighty-five years later, there is a new push to have the men recognised. "To this day, the tragedy remains little-known, even by military historians,"Mrs Filippone said. "When we think of enemy action on the home front, we think of the Darwin bombings and the Japanese mini-submarine attack on Sydney Harbour, but this is a story of national significance too." Time to remember Memorials exist to mark the tragedy and the sacrifice of the two men in Beachport and Canberra, but Mrs Filippone said she wants to see a permanent memorial established in Port Adelaide, where AS Todd was from and where the two men lived near the naval base. "The community of Beachport has done a lot of work to commemorate the two men, but now it's time for Port Adelaide to recognise my grandfather's sacrifice," she said. "My father tried right up until his death to get a memorial in Port Adelaide [for his father], now I'm taking on the fight." Mrs Filippone is part of a renewed push to get a monument on the Birkenhead Naval Reserve or on the Port Riverfront and is supported by veteran volunteers, family and Virtual War Memorial Australia contributor Megan Spencer. Ms Spencer previously worked with Mrs Filippone on a six-part series exploring the little-known historical event, titled When the War Comes Home. She said she was "gobsmacked" when she first heard about the tragic event. "This story has fallen to the bottom of the ocean like a wreck, waiting to be discovered." Ms Spencer said the media blackout at the time, coupled with the fact it was a South Australian story and not originating from the east coast, likely contributed to it having almost no exposure. "People who come to learn about this story ask the same question, 'Why haven't we heard about this before?'" she said. "It is a story of national significance. People are amazed to hear the story, and [are] very moved by it." Ms Spencer said she thought it was "a national disgrace" that so far no memorial had materialised in Port Adelaide, but "the council still has a chance to make things right". "No memorialisation is pro-war, it's about remembering." Council support needed City of Port Adelaide and Enfield spokesperson Ed Garner said the council had elected to date not to proceed with the memorial. "The costs of memorials, together with any costs involved in the renaming of a reserve are unbudgeted. This led to the proposal being put in the budget bid process and subsequently council elected not to proceed," he said. The South Australian Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide, where much of the state's maritime history is on record, also has nothing on public display to mark the event. 'Little-known' home front event During World War II, an estimated 550,000 sea mines were laid and today, remnants continue to wash ashore. In South Australia, dozens of sea mines were found on coastlines, including 12 at nearby Robe. Military historians believe the Beachport mine had been laid by one of two German ships, the Pinguin or the Passat, which had mined sea approaches to Australian eastern ports. It was found floating offshore by two lobster fishermen, who towed it into the bay where the able seamen arrived as part of the "rendering mines safe" outfit to decommission it. "A large crowd had gathered on the beach to watch the team go into action, and it was decided to tow it further away for public safety," Mrs Filippone said. "Unexpectedly, a wave then lifted the mine onto one of its detonators and it exploded." The men were blown into the sand dunes, where Bill Danswan reportedly died instantly. While AS Todd was able to be moved into Beachport township, he then succumbed to his injuries. The Border Watch newspaper reported the shock wave from the explosion cracked windows of Beachport homes, was heard by school children at the town's primary school, and was felt as far away as Millicent, more than 30 kilometres away. "It wasn't an accident. The Germans were laying mines. The mines were there to kill people. It was a tragedy, but it wasn't an accident,"Mrs Filippone said. "We continue to return to Beachport, to stand at the site where it happened, to reflect on what could have been." In 1974, a memorial was opened at Beachport to mark the tragedy.