Shipwreck hunter offers to find Centaur remains - National - smh.com.au THE man responsible for finding HMAS Sydney has offered to help find the lost Australian hospital ship Centaur, saying the task is feasible so long as there is funding. David Mearns, the world-renowned shipwreck hunter and search director for the Finding Sydney Foundation, has conducted preliminary research on the Centaur and said it would be easier to find than the Sydney and the Kormoran. The Centaur was sunk by a Japanese submarine, 1-177, off the Queensland coast on May 14, 1943. The ship displayed the red cross - the international symbol for a hospital ship - meaning that under international law it should have been immune from attack. One of the last remaining survivors from the Centaur, Martin Pash, renewed calls for the wreck to be found in the Herald last month, saying: "It's time the arguments over the exact location can be settled and protected." Mr Mearns said the only barriers to finding the Centaur was a lack of money and political will. "On the basis of what I've seen of her, I believe she's findable," he said. "The information, even at this preliminary stage, is better than what I had to deal with in locating … Kormoran and Sydney. "I think the water depth isn't a barrier; I don't think there are any environmental problems. But how it's organised, who funds it - those are all big questions." The sinking has long been interpreted in Australia as a war crime, with the then prime minister, John Curtin, labelling the sinking "deliberate, wanton and barbarous". One of the Centaur's celebrated feats was in November 1941, when it picked up 61 German Kormoran survivors after it was sunk by the Sydney. Ross Anderson, the president of the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology, said there was support among the relatives of those who died on the Centaur to find its wreck. "It's another important site for the country and, like Sydney, it's a very emotive site as well," Mr Anderson said. A Defence spokesman said the navy had not received a formal request for government funding to begin a search for the wreck. Mr Mearns said he would offer his services if asked to find the Centaur. "I'm always game for an interesting project," he said. "I really enjoyed this project and I've made a lot of good friends in Australia and I have a very good relationship with the navy, so I'd be pleased to help if I possibly could." In 2003 television reports claimed that a researcher had found the Centaur but the find turned out to be a scuttled merchant ship, the Kyogle.
Qld Govt to look at funding 'Centaur' search - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Bold - spoken like a true politician!
On 12 May 1943 the Centaur sailed unescorted from Sydney at 0945 hours carrying her crew and normal staff, as well as stores and equipment of the 2/12th Field Ambulance but no patients. It was sunk without warning by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine on 14 May 1943 at approximately 0400 hours, its position being approximately 27°17' S, 153°58' E about 50 miles east north-east of Brisbane. The wreck was discovered in 1995. Of the 332 persons on board, only 64 survived. These survivors spent 35 hours on rafts before being rescued. Sister Ellen Savage, the only one of twelve nursing sisters on board to survive, though injured herself, gave great help to the other survivors and was awarded the George Medal for this work. Service Record Name - SAVAGE, ELLEN Service - Australian Army Service Number - NX76584 (N270911) Date of Birth - 17 Oct 1912 Place of Birth - QUIRINDI, NSW Date of Enlistment - 18 Nov 1941 Locality on Enlistment - GORDON, NSW Place of Enlistment - SYDNEY, NSW Next of Kin - SAVAGE, HENRY Date of Discharge - 8 Mar 1946 Rank - Lieutenant Posting at Discharge - HOSPITAL SHIP ORANJE WW2 Honours and Gallantry - George Medal Prisoner of War - No WW2 Nominal Roll DVA - Publications - The Sinking of the Centaur
The man is on the job. International expert begins Centaur hunt - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Shipwreck hunter combs archives for Centaur clues - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
