Vietnamese refugee boat TU DO

TU DO meaning ‘Freedom’ was built by in 1975 its owner and skipper, Tan Than Lu, as part of his escape plan during the exodus of refugees from South Vietnam after the fall, Saigon to communist forces. TU DO is typical of the type of craft used for the dangerous escape voyages and remains in largely original condition. It is one of just three refugee boats held in Australian museum collections, and the only one that is floating and operational.

TU DO can be used to explore the experiences of people who have taken great risks to escape oppression, in particular those who embarked on perilous sea voyages as boat people in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. This story represents Australia's experience of the 1970s as the nation became involved in the global refugee story, one that continues to capture international attention

Tan Thanh Lu meticulously planned his secret escape with 38 others including his pregnant wife Tuyet, 27, infants, relatives, friends and neighbours. He built TU DO specifically for the voyage but in order to remain inconspicuous it was built on the typical fishing boat lines of craft used at Phu Quoc Island off the southernmost part of Vietnam. It was used for fishing for six months after its launch to further avoid suspicion and to help pay for crucial supplies, hidden in his fellow voyagers' homes.

When they were ready to escape an engine breakdown was staged so that surveillance would be relaxed. A more powerful replacement engine was installed by night and they set off in the dark, pushing the boat across shallow water to maintain silence. Children had been given cough medicine to make them sleep. As they reached deeper water a head count revealed that Mr Lu’s 6-year-old daughter Dzung, had been left sleeping on the shore. They returned to fetch her and the voyage began, on 16 August 1977.

TU DO, with gold and cash hidden about the vessel, outpaced the Gulf of Thailand pirates and eventually managed to land in Malaysia where eight of the exhausted passengers disembarked as refugees. After unsuccessful approaches to US Embassy officials, Mr Lu bought more supplies with some of his gold and sailed for Australia with the remaining 30 people.

Off Flores in Indonesia they rescued another Vietnamese refugee boat which had run aground and towed it across the Timor Sea to make an Australian landfall near Darwin. Tu Do’s intrepid 6,000 kilometre voyage, guided by a map torn from a schoolbook and a compass, ended on 21 November 1977.

Years later after revisiting his well-worn fishing boat at the Museum, and taking a trip on Sydney Harbour, Mr Lu said: ‘Making the decision to escape is like going to war. You do it because you think it’s necessary, but you never want to do it twice’.