A HISTORIC boat has sunk in Darwin Harbour and now a group of people are raising money to save the MV Rushcutter.

The 73-year-old boat started out as a World War II military reconnaissance vessel, transporting commandos to New Guinea, including operations where seven of the eight men deployed were killed. The one that remained fought his way across two islands, with his information making the eventual attack on the Japanese stronghold a less dangerous one.

The Rushcutter then spent decades taking tourists up and down the east coast of Australia, showing off some of Australia’s best coastlines (excluding the Territory, of course).

Then it disappeared for a number of years before popping up again in Nhulunbuy. From there, the Geddes family bought the Rushcutter with the aim of restoring it to its original condition.

The family spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the restoration process, before realising the cost was too high for them. They put it on the market, and a group of men planned to buy it.

This first attempt at a sale ended with an Australian Federal Police sting operation, involving video and audio wires and surveillance — the men trying to buy the boat were alleged terrorists.

Despite all of this remarkable history, the Geddes family say the Australian War Memorial is not interested in keeping the Rushcutter. Even the Darwin Museum and Art Gallery is reportedly not interested. This should not be the case.

All of the other HDML boats built in Australia in WWII have been lost or destroyed. With an incredible history and stories of bravery and courage, it would be wrong to let the Rushcutter be destroyed.

Focus has recently been around the Centenary of Anzac, but in a short number of years we’ll be preparing for the WWII 100-year commemorations. We can’t afford to let history like this be lost.