Founder and Patron
Derek Emerson-Elliott and Lynette Silver
Patron - Lynette Silver
AM, MBE, FAIHA
Founder
Mr Derek St John Emerson-Elliott
QC, LLB
Derek Emerson-Elliott was born in colonial Singapore in 1939, the son of an English Royal Naval Officer. Derek then settled in Australia and later travelled extensively with his family after the war, living in Malaya, England, Singapore, South Africa and Portugal.
During the term of the 16th Governor-General, Lord Casey KG, GCMG, CH, DSO, MC, PC (1965 to 1969), Derek served as an Aid-de-Camp to the Governor-General. He was later admitted as a barrister in the ACT Supreme Court and solicitor in 1970 followed by the NSW Supreme Court. During his time at Canberra Community Law, he was appointed an adjunct associate professor at the University of Canberra.
Derek was informed of the MV Cape Don sitting idle in Sydney harbour in the early 2000’s which reminded him of the days when he was a young boy, travelling between Asia and Australia during school holidays to see his parents in Singapore, sparking fond memories of the ships he sailed on.
Derek enquired into the ownership of the vessel, which appeared abandoned. To his surprise the ship had been detained by the Government for unpaid port fees by its owner. Subsequently Derek made an offer for the ship and later paid her debt to become the proud owner of the MV Cape Don.
This selfless act ensured the last of the CLS Lighthouse Tenders would live on as a museum ship, in recognition of the people and families who served the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service.
Derek later founded the Sea Heritage Foundation Pty Ltd to oversee the management of the ship with the MV Cape Don Society Inc. formed to undertake the restoration of the ship.
Lynette Silver is a well-known writer, historian and recognized expert in her field. She has researched and written 14 published historical works to date. Her expertise has resulted in consultancies to various departments in the Australian and Malaysian governments. She has contributed her knowledge to many documentaries world-wide, including several made by the ABC, BBC, ITV and Discovery Channel.
In recognition of her ground-breaking research work, in 1988 Lynette was made a fellow of the Australian Institute of History and the Arts, and in 2003 she received a Defence Force Commendation and Medal from Special Operations Command Australia, the first civilian ever to receive this prestigious award. She was awarded an OAM in 2003 from the Australian Government; a Minister’s Special Award from the Malaysian government in 2009. In recognition of her dedication to Australian military history and her contributions to the Malaysian Government in 2019 the Governor General upgraded her order of Australia medal to the higher grade of Member of the Order of Australia (AM). In early 2023, Lynette was informed by Buckingham Palace that HM Queen Elizabeth the Second had created her a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her work to support fallen British military personnel who served in Borneo during the intense fighting in WWII.
Lynette is the driving force behind various community and philanthropic works in Malaysia relating to those Malaysian families who risked their lives to help Australian prisoners of war during World War two under Japanese occupation additionally; she is an honorary member of several military associations and is trustee of six memorial funds.