Many, at the time and since, have praised the bravery of the act - believed to have saved many lives. And one which spawned a now decades-long campaign, by family, veterans and the community, for the posthumous awarding of a Victoria Cross for Australia.

This week, on March 25 and 26, the Defence Honours Awards and Appeals Tribunal will hold public hearings at the Hobart Town Hall as part of a new merits review of the case, after a 2013 decision to not grant Sheean a VC sparked a petition and calls for the review - accepted by the Tribunal in November.

Having been involved in the push for 16 years himself, Veterans Affairs Minister Guy Barnett said the review represents "the best chance yet" for Sheean - who was 18 at the time - to posthumously receive Australia's highest award for acts of wartime bravery.

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"The time has come for this exceptional Tasmanian to be recognised," Mr Barnett added.

One-hundred Australians have been awarded the VC, either under the British or the later-established Australian honours system.

The process involved in its awarding meant none of the 100 served in the navy, a situation military historian Dr Tom Lewis described as a "systemic unfairness".

In reviewing the case in 2013, the Tribunal heard "sufficient evidence to establish what Sheaan did was extremely brave", but concluded the actions did not reach the "particularly high" standard for a VC.

It also considered whether or not the reporting or honours and awards process was properly carried out at the time, and found there was not enough evidence of a "manifest injustice".

Any recommendation by the Tribunal needed to also "maintain the integrity" of the award system, which bases retrospective awards on a number of criteria including maladministration or new evidence.

Born in Latrobe, Sheean is one of Tasmania's best-known wartime servicemen and was awarded a Mention in Dispatches at the time of his actions - the only other award available - later being honoured in a well-known painting at the Australian War Memorial.

Key points in the push for Sheaan's Victoria Cross

Handing the 5175-signature petition to then Bass Liberal MHR Andrew Nikolic in November 2013, Sheean's nephew, Garry Ivory, said he deserved "nothing less" than a VC.

"Teddy never gave up and neither will we," Mr Ivory said.

In a letter written in support of the new review last year, Dr Ray Leonard, the last-surviving crew member of HMAS Armidale, described what the recognition would mean to him.

He wrote: "A Victoria Cross awarded to Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean, the first in the Royal Australia Navy, as we the last survivors live out our days, would give us all a sense of rightness and recognition for all our ship-mates who did not survive."

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