Finding Centaur 'difficuly but doable'

Antipodean Andy · Jul 6, 2009

Finding Centaur: 'difficult but doable' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

A maritime expert hired by the Queensland Government to find the wreck of the World War II hospital ship, the Centaur, says it may be much closer to shore than previously thought.

Families of victims and survivors of the Centaur tragedy gathered in Brisbane today to hear from David Mearns.

He is leading a mission to find the ship, which was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off south-east Queensland in 1943.

A total of 268 people died.

Mr Mearns believes the Centaur went down much closer to shore than reported, and says they will focus on two main regions.

"We're talking about 25 miles off the coast of Moreton Island," he said.

He says images of the ocean floor in the search area show it will be difficult.

"The seabed is very rough, it's very steep, it's very rocky," he said.

"But it's within our budget - that's the important thing."

Deputy Premier Paul Lucas agrees it will be a challenging task.

"This is not unlike finding a needle in a haystack," he said.

But Mr Lucas says its an important chapter in Australia's war-time history.

"This was an atrocity, that's another reason we want to give finality to it," he said.

The search is expected to cost $4 million and is expected to begin in December.
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