Anzac Day marching banner : 2/1 Australian Hospital Ship Manunda

Anzac Day marching banner of 2/1 Australian Hospital Ship 'Manunda'. The banner is made from two layers of purple cotton fabric, edged on all sides with a 50 mm yellow cotton border. The bottom edge has a further full-width border of yellow furniture fringe, while the top edge has five 100mm purple cotton loops spaced along its length, enabling a suspension pole to be fitted. The banner is hand painted on both sides with the colour patch of 2/1 Hospital Ship (a green vertical bar within a grey bordered brown diamond) and has a series of light blue painted scrolls. The gold edged scrolls on each side contain the words '2/1ST HOSPITAL SHIP "MANUNDA"' at the top, with the battle honours 'SUEZ CANAL', 'DARWIN', 'NEW GUINEA', 'MOROTAI', 'BORNEO', 'SINGAPORE' and 'JAPAN' in two columns below.

This banner was manufactured in Sydney and carried in Anzac Day marches after the Second World War by former crew members and staff of 2/1 Australian Hospital Ship 'Manunda'. It was used until the early 2000s, when insufficient numbers remained able to participate in the marches. The twin-screw, 9115 ton motor vessel Manunda was built in Scotland in 1929 for the Adelaide Steamship Company. After ten years carrying passengers in Australian coastal waters, she was impressed into military service in 1940 as 2/1 Australian Hospital Ship. Under the command of Captain James Garden, Manunda made four voyages to the Middle East, bringing sick and wounded soldiers back to Australia. With the outbreak of war in the Pacific, she was sent to Darwin, and was present in the harbour during the Japanese bombing raid of 19 February 1942. Manunda suffered damage from a bomb hit forward, and ten of those aboard, including one nursing sister, were killed. Despite this, a full load of wounded were evacuated to Fremantle the following day. After repairs and a refit, the hospital ship returned to service, completing 27 trips to New Guinean waters. She was later engaged in the repatriation of prisoners of war from New Britain and Singapore, before being returned to her owners, the Adelaide Steamship Company, in September 1946. After a further ten years of passenger service, she was sold and broken up for scrap in 1957. During her war service, the Manunda carried 14,959 patients and 7,851 medical personnel. She completed 42 wartime voyages, in the course of which 457,777 miles were covered.