Australia's greatest naval tragedy, the sinking of HMAS Sydney during World War II when all 645 crew were lost, was particularly felt in the Warragul district with three young local men among those lost.
They were Cyril Nugent, son of Mr and Mrs J. Nugent of Albert St, Warragul; Leonard Savage, son of Mr and Mrs Savage of Bona Vista, and Peter Petersen who was well known in the Ellinbank and Lardner areas.
All were stokers on HMAS Sydney when it was sunk by German merchant raider Korman on November 19, 1941, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of West Australia.
Of the German crew 317 of its members were rescued.
The wrecks of the two ships were not located until March 2008.
The tragedy spawned an Australian legend, "The Unknown Sailor", after the body of one of the Sydney's crew, was washed up in a life raft at Christmas Island three months after the sinking.
Stokers Nugent, Savage and Petersen had all been farewelled at Warragul by the local Farewells Committee when they left for the war and on news of their losses reached Warragul the shire's Cr Gaul said "it will be fitting if councillors will stand and observe a minute's silence in memory of the men of the shire and other members of the crew of HMAS Sydney".
Cyril Nugent's mother took him to Melbourne to enlist in the Navy on December 14, 1938, when he was 17 years old,
Throughout his time in the Navy he vividly recorded in his diary the everyday life officers and crew, the challenges they faced in wartime and the camaraderie that defined their experience.
Stoker Nugent also took photographs, wrote poetry and collected memorabilia including official records, personal letters, newspaper articles and other keepsakes that encapsulated their bravery and fortitude and reflected the complex emotions and spirit of their service.
He left them with his mother nine months before the tragedy and they remained hidden because Cyril was never to be spoken of following the anguish his death had caused the family.
His mother died in 1963 and when his father later died the family home had to be sold. Family members discovered the items which, along with a paper encompassing the Nugent family's wider heritage and history, was last year donated to the West Australia Maritime Museum.
The WA museum and custodians of the "Cyril Nugent Collection" have since provided a copy of the material to the Warragul District Historical Society.
The mystery of "The Unknown Sailor" was not solved until 2021 after years of DNA testing confirmed it was the body of Thomas Welsby who was 20 years old when he died.
He was buried initially on an island 1500 kilometres off the West Australia coast but decades later was reburied on the mainland.