Abuse victims recount Navy base violence

Updated

Navy graduates have spoken of the violent physical and sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of older recruits at a former training base.

A recent independent review into abuse in the Australian Defence Force, revealed by 7.30, highlighted HMAS Leeuwin as an incubator of violence that has had repercussions long after it closed its gates.

The DLA Piper report cited examples of horrific abuse at the West Australian base, concluding that Defence and governments failed to protect boys.

Stevan Coll was 15 when he left Sydney for HMAS Leeuwin.

Coming from a military family he expected harsh discipline, but not to be the victim of random attacks mostly dished out by gangs of older recruits.

"I can see the faces now and I can remember the names now. They were quite controlling at times and quite vicious," he told 7.30.

"The first six months, I look back now and it really was, it was bloody hell.

"Like being stripped naked in showers, and having your testicles scrubbed with a bloody boot brush and boot polish.

"And that happened to me on several occasions. I cried myself to sleep."

The junior recruits quickly sensed the brutality was sanctioned by officers and sailors, if not endorsed.

One of the senior people ... used to walk around with what he called a pacifier. It was a lump of polished wood about a metre long. He would hit people with it. 'Marc'

One former recruit, who would like to be known as Marc, says at least 50 per cent of the 150 people in his block were victimised.

"One of the senior people there that was doing the abusing, he used to walk around with what he called a pacifier," he said.

"It was a lump of polished wood about a metre long. He would hit people with it.

"And in the morning, he used to ram it under the sheets of your bed, in your anal area.

"He seemed to enjoy it when he walked around with it - he had a smile on his face.

"That's what was even more terrifying. You could see that he was enjoying what he was doing."

Graeme Pilley, who signed up to the Navy 44 years ago, says an incident within weeks of arriving at HMAS Leeuwin left him brutalised and untrusting for the rest of his life.

He says it began when he was propositioned by a supervising sailor, something he refused.

"I took off and ran and ran and ran down to the football oval. All I had on was my pyjama pants," he said.

"Wasn't long before they found me and kicked the living s**t out of me and raped me.

"[They] took the civilian clothes off me and left me naked on the oval."

'Everybody knew'

Mr Pilley said he was too ashamed and afraid to report the incident.

Everybody knew what was going on and nobody did a thing about it. Every kid that went through Leeuwin came out of that place a completely different child. Graeme Pilley

But within months of being attacked, he rose up the pecking order and sought revenge on new recruits below.

"You were a product of the system and you did all the brutal things back to everybody else," he said.

"Everybody knew what was going on and nobody did a thing about it.

"Every kid that went through Leeuwin came out of that place a completely different child."

There was one examination of the culture at HMAS Leeuwin.

In 1971, after a 15-year-old recruit went public about being bashed, an inquiry was held.

But it has never been fully released and it remains today in the National Archives with a majority of it blacked out.

Violence begets violence

For the boy sailors, the experiences of Leeuwin were not left behind at the passing out parade. Many believe the brutality followed them to sea.

Marc served more than 20 years in the Navy, including on board the warship HMAS Swan, where in 1992 he saw behaviour reminiscent of his time at Leeuwin - only this time the targets were female.

"They were being harassed by Naval officers and it wasn't one of them, it was a gang of them," he said.

"[It was] gang warfare until the point where these two female officers who were being victimised sought shelter in the Chief Petty Officer's mess.

"They couldn't go back into the ward room. They were terrified. You could see it in their eyes."

Like so many graduates of Leeuwin, Mr Coll had a distinguished naval career. During his 40 years in uniform he worked as an investigator, where he formed the belief that violence begets violence.

"I have had to investigate abuse. A lot of it sexual, physical, drug-affected, anger behaviour, aggressive behaviour," he said.

I am sure I am not the only child that was ruined. Yes, my life has been ruined by the Navy. Stevan Coll

"You can see where the origins start sometimes."

HMAS Leeuwin still haunts some of its former residents, including Mr Pilley.

"I feel wronged. I feel the Navy - or if not the Navy, the Department of Veterans' Affairs or the ADF - have a lot to answer for," he said.

"I am sure I am not the only child that was ruined. Yes, my life has been ruined by the Navy."

At Fremantle there is a memorial to the junior recruits, signifying the base is now a part of naval history.

What remains to be seen is if, given the findings of the DLA Piper report, what happened at HMAS Leeuwin will remain in the past.

Topics: navy, defence-forces, sexual-offences, assault, crime, law-crime-and-justice, fremantle-6160, wa, australia

First posted