On the evening of October 18, 1936 a group of friends went to Patonga for the day. As they set about to return to the mainland the boat they were in capsized. 12 people lost their lives . 2  young men survived. Most of the victims are buried together in a large memorial at Rookwood Cemetery. The graves are in desperate need of repair but there are very few descendants around to do them.

In 2011 a few of us cleaned up the memorial but did not have the funds to do the structural work needed. Funds raised through this campaign will be used to repair the concrete top and retaining wall of the memorial, reset as much of the mosaic as can be repaired and clean up and conserve the marble headstones.