Discovering A Lost Tragedy
The Montevideo Maru was sunk by an American submarine in 1942. Since then, it lay underneath the murky waters of the ocean until it was discovered in April 2023. Here is what we know about the sinking and the discovery of this vessel.
Before Conflict
The Montevideo Maru was one of three ships that were built for the Osaka Shosen Kaisha’s trans-Pacific shipping line. It was intended for service to South America before the outbreak of WWII changed everything.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Before Conflict
The ship boasted an impressive size at 7,267 gross register tons. It was 130 meters in length and powered by two six-cylinder diesel engines, which gave it a speed of 14.5 knots (16.7 mph).
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Before Conflict
Before the outbreak of WWII, the Montevideo Maru was a passenger and cargo vessel. It primarily traveled between Japan and Brazil, carrying Japanese emigrants. The outbreak of conflict changed all of that.
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The Sinking
The Montevideo Maru participated in the invasion of Makassar, Sulawesi from February 6 to 16, 1942. It completed several transportation missions before meeting its watery end.
Bluesatellite, Wikimedia Commons
The Sinking
Four months after Rabaul fell to the Japanese, in June 1942, Montevideo Maru departed from Rabaul’s port with 1,054 prisoners on board. Most of these prisoners came from Australia. A few, likely, were from New Zealand.
Stefan Krasowski from New York, NY, USA, Wikimedia Commons
The Sinking
The ship’s destination was the Chinese island of Hainan. It was proceeding through the waters without an escort when it was spotted by the American submarine USS Sturgeon. Montevideo Maru was the north coast of the Philippines.
Anna Frodesiak, Wikimedia Commons
The Sinking
When the ship was first sited, it was traveling at 17 knots (19.6 mph) which meant that Sturgeon was unable to fire. Instead, they pursued the ship, waiting for a moment to strike—which eventually came.
Service Depicted: Navy, Wikimedia Commons
The Sinking
At midnight between June 30 and July 1, 1942, Montevideo Maru slowed as they were expecting to meet with a pair of destroyers that would be their escort for the remainder of the journey. They were now moving at 12 knots (13.8 mph), and Sturgeon had an opening.
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The Sinking
Sturgeon had no idea that the ship they had in their sites was filled with allied POWs and civilians when they fired at it. They took four shots at dawn on July 1, 1942—at least one hit the ship. It sunk in 11 minutes.
The Sinking
Many of the prisoners were trapped within the ship as it sank. Those who were in the water, holding onto debris, were reported to have sung “Auld Lang Syne” to those who could not be saved. It was a tragic scene that never left those who witnessed it.
The Sinking
One eyewitness recalled the singing, stating, “They were singing songs. I was particularly impressed when they began singing “Auld Lang Syne” as a tribute to their lost colleagues. Watching that, I learned that Australians have big hearts”.
Tragic Loss Of Life
It is difficult to track the lives lost in these situations accurately, but in total, 1,054 prisoners passed during the sinking of the Montevideo Maru. It is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australian history.
Tragic Loss Of Life
The sinking was significant for the people of Australia. Both immediately after, and in the years that have followed, it was discovered that many of those who lost their lives had connections to significant figures in Australia, both past and present.
Tragic Loss Of Life
Among the lost was Harold Page. Page was the deputy administrator of New Guinea. He was also the brother of Australian Prime Minister Earle Page.
Fairfax archive of glass plate negatives, Wikimedia Commons
Tragic Loss Of Life
Another man that was lost was Reverand Syd Beazley. He was associated with the Methodist Mission. He was also the uncle of the future leader of the Australian Labor Part, Kim Beasley.
John Cochran, Wikimedia Commons
Tragic Loss Of Life
The Australian rock band Midnight Oil has connections to this sinking as well. It’s lead singer, Peter Garrett, lost his grandfather Tom Vernon Garrett in the sinking.
Thesupermat, Wikimedia Commons
Tragic Loss Of Life
Andrew Hastie has been a member of the Australian parliament since 2015. Before that, he was an officer, perhaps taking after his great uncle, Neill Ross Callaghan. Callaghan was lost in the sinking.
Brenden Conroy, Wikimedia Commons
Tragic Loss Of Life
One of the biggest group losses was that of 22 Salvation Army bandsmen. The majority of them were members of the Brunswick Citadel and had enlisted together. They were, sadly, also lost together.
Not stated at source, Wikimedia Commons
Tragic Loss Of Life
One final loss of note was John Laurie Ramsay, the brother of James Ramsay. James Ramsay would go on to become the Governor of Queensland. These are all just some of the noted losses; thousands of men were lost with the sinking.
Queensland State Archives from Runcorn, Queensland, Australia, Wikimedia Commons
Discovery
The Montevideo Maru lay under the waters of the South China Sea for decades before its wreck resurfaced. It was not even discussed until late January 2010.
Anonymous United States Navy photographer, Wikimedia Commons
Discovery
In 2010, Federal Member of Parliament Stuart Robert requested backing from the Prime Minister of Australia at the time, Kevin Rudd, to search for the wreck. This was something Australia had a history of doing so already.
Adrian Cadiz, Wikimedia Commons
Discovery
Australia lost many ships to attacks during WWII. The AHS Centaur was a hospital ship that was sunk by a Japanese attack; they used the search for this ship as a basis to fund searching for the Montevideo Maru.
Photographer not identified, Wikimedia Commons
Discovery
It took 13 years before the Montevideo Maru was discovered. It was found using Dutch technology from Fugro, a search specialist.
Thomas Dahlstrom Nielsen, Wikimedia Commons
Discovery
The wreck was discovered on April 18, 2023. It was under the South China Sea at a depth of 13,000 feet (4,000 meters). Despite the discovery, they will not disturb it, due to its status as a war grave.
Discovery
Following the discovery, Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, spoke out. He stated that he hoped the news would bring a “measure of comfort to loved ones who have kept a long vigil”.
Australian Government, Wikimedia Commons
Memorializing Tragedy
The wreck has been memorialized in several ways throughout Australia. One memorial was erected at the Repatriation Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. A service was held when it was unveiled in 2004.
Memorializing Tragedy
While not a memorial in and of itself, the sinking is mentioned in a song by Midnight Oil, whose lead singer’s grandfather passed in the sinking. The line goes “My grandfather went down with the Montevideo/The Rising Sun sent him floating to his rest”.
Thesupermat, Wikimedia Commons
Conflicting Details
Over the years, there has been some controversy over the details of the sinking, and what truly happened to the poor men that night. Some believe the tragedy is deeper than stated.
Okinawa Diving School World Diving, Pexels
Conflicting Details
Albert Speer, an Australian veteran, claimed in an interview that some survived the sinking, only to perish later. He believed some men were rescued, only to face a later end.
Conflicting Details
Speer believed that survivors were taken to Sado Island. However, those survivors then passed shortly before Hiroshima occurred. Others have their doubts, however.
Conflicting Details
Hank Nelson, an Australian historian and professor, believes that this story is unlikely. It would have been unusual for a Japanese ship to rescue prisoners when an enemy sub was still nearby. It is difficult to prove due to lack of witnesses.
Conflicting Details
There has only ever been one known Japanese survivor who was questioned, a former Merchant seaman. In an interview in 2003, he stated that he was told some POWs had been taken to Kobe.
Sitting Ducks
Some historians claim something of this nature was unavoidable, as the garrison left in Rabaul was likened to a “sacrificial lamb”. They were left without reinforcements and instructed not to leave.
UK Government artistic works, Picryl
Sitting Ducks
Harold Page, who was listed among those lost in the sinking, was told he could only evacuate “unnecessary” civilians. He was also refused permission to evacuate any administrative staff, leaving them open for capture.
Tallying The Loss
Australia’s Minister for Defence Personnel, Alan Griffin, stated in 2010 that “there is no confirmed roll” about the tally of those lost in the sinking. There have been endless challenges.
Some manner of a Kean, Wikimedia Commons
Tallying The Loss
The 1945 list of those lost held by Australian Army officer Major Harold S Williams has been lost. The Japanese list written in katakana, which Williams’ list had been copied from, is also gone.
Engelbert Kaempfer, Wikimedia Commons
Tallying The Loss
The missing lists are made more complicated by the nature of sinkings. It is very difficult to recover remains lost at sea, even without fear of disrupting the resting place of those lost to conflict.
montereydiver, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Tallying The Loss
Some help in confirming numbers came in 2012. The Japanese government gave the Australian government thousands of documents regarding POWs. Among these files was the manifest of the Montevideo Maru, which listed all of the Australians who were on board that tragic night.
Tallying The Loss
The translation of this manifest confirmed that the total number of Australians lost was 1,054. 845 of them were POWs from the Lark Force formation that had been denied evacuation from Rabaul. It also corrected history.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Tallying The Loss
It had previously been thought that the number of civilians that were lost was 208. This translation confirmed it was 209. This was not a discovery of a new passing, but rather a correction of an earlier administrative error.
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