Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Sunday marks the 80th anniversary of the sinking of the AHS Centaur, just 30 nautical miles off North Stradbroke Island in my electorate of Bowman. The Centaur remains one of our nation's greatest national tragedies. While sailing to New Guinea and clearly marked and illuminated as a hospital ship, the Centaur was sunk without warning by a Japanese submarine at 4 am on 14 May 1943. Of the 233 people on board only 64 survived. These survivors spent 35 hours on rafts before being rescued. Sister Ellen Savage was one of only 12 nursing sisters on board. She was the only one to survive. Though injured herself, she gave great help to other survivors and was awarded the George Medal for her bravery.

I had the pleasure of meeting a constituent of mine, Pamela Gilbert, and her family this week. Pamela lost both her father and her uncle, Frederick and Alan Fortier, in the Centaur tragedy. Eight decades on, the very human tragedy of a little girl who lost her dad still cuts deeply. Pamela's great-granddaughter Lola recently won my Centaur essay competition with a powerful tribute to her forebears.

This war crime didn't take place in some foreign sea or old-world battlefield but in our own waters, just out of view of the quiet suburbs where many of these heroic Australians were raised and nurtured.

I thank the House for its indulgence in remembering the Centaur and all of those Australians who were killed on that early morning eight decades ago.

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for reminding us of the story of the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur, which, as the honourable member has said, was sunk 80 years ago this Sunday. The Centaur was on route from Sydney to Cairns and was struck by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Moreton Island at 4 am on that morning. As the member has said, the ship was clearly marked as a hospital ship, and the sinking of it was particularly horrendous. The torpedo struck one of the oil tanks which filled the ship, which meant that there was a very loud explosion, a huge explosion, and a fire, which swept across the ship before it sank. As the member said, all but 64 on board perished either in the explosion, the fire or lost at sea. Most particularly, it was the nurses on board, all of whom died, except for one—Sister Ellen Savage.

For those who survived, it was horrific. They were at sea for a day and a half before they were picked up. The story of Sister Ellen Savage is particularly poignant. She was injured and burnt in the explosion, but she covered up her injuries to tend to those who were in the water with her while sharks were surrounding them. She kept them going until they were rescued. For that, she was awarded the George Medal.

The sinking of the Centaur at the time was a hugely impactful moment for the Australian public. It really galvanised a sense of resolve to see the war through at that time, and it is a really important moment to remember.

If I might, also, on indulgence, Mr Speaker—it brings to mind another sinking which occurred earlier, within 12 months of that, on 1 July 1942, the Montevideo Maru. I mention that now because, since we were last here in March, the Montevideo Maru was found, on 18 April this year. That was the worst maritime disaster in our country's history. More than 1,000 people were on board. It was a Japanese prisoner of war ship which was not marked, and, sadly, it was sunk by an American submarine. More than 850 of those on board were Australian personnel, including relations of Kim Beazley and Peter Garrett, in fact—and many others. It was an astonishing find that was undertaken by the Silentworld Foundation. Defence played a part in funding that. In fact, the wreck was in the South China Sea north-west of Luzon and was at a depth below where the Titanic is, so it was an incredible feat to identify it. The identification of that wreck obviously provides enormous relief to so many families, to this day.

When you think about both tragedies occurring within the space of 12 months, with more than 1,000 Australians losing their lives in just those two events, it speaks to an extraordinary time in our history. As we remember, thanks to the member for Bowman, the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur today and those who lost their life on the Montevideo Maru we do so paying absolute acknowledgement to their sacrifice.