The Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie welcomes the discovery of the wreck of the Australian Hospital Ship (AHS) Centaur over the weekend. The AHS Centaur was found by search teams early morning on Sunday 20 December 2009.

“I am relieved that the families of the Australians on board the AHS Centaur will finally know the resting place of their loved ones, 66 years after it was sunk north east of Brisbane,” said Lieutenant General Gillespie. The discovery of the AHS Centaur reminds all of us of the loss suffered on that terrible day in May 1943. I offer my congratulations to all the members of the search team for their commitment and dedication to the successful search task.”

The next stage of the project will see the team film the wreckage to capture high quality images. The wreck is in one piece, while the hull is intact it appears to be broken about two thirds along its length, which would fit with the torpedo strike. Planning for a memorial service will begin shortly in the New Year. The task to find the wreck of the Centaur and subsequent memorial activity is a joint Federal and Queensland Government Project.

The AHS Centaur was sunk without warning by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine on 14 May 1943, about 50 miles east north-east of Brisbane. Of the 332 persons on board, only 64 survived. The vessel with 332 personnel on board, including medical staff, field ambulance personnel and merchant seamen was steaming from Sydney towards the coast of Queensland when it was struck.