AHS Centaur 1943

About the wreck

AHS Centaur was a hospital ship which was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943. Of the 332 medical personnel and civilian crew aboard, 268 died, including 63 of the 65 army personnel.

Completed in Scotland by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company as a combination passenger liner and refrigerated cargo ship in 1924, it operated between Western Australia and Singapore via the Dutch East Indies, carrying passengers, cargo, and livestock. At the start of World War II, Centaur, like all British Merchant Navy vessels) was placed under Admiralty control, but after being fitted with defensive equipment, was allowed to continue normal operations. In November 1941, the ship rescued German survivors of the engagement between Kormoran and HMAS Sydney. Centaur was relocated to Australia's east coast in October 1942, and used to transport materiel to New Guinea.

In January 1943, Centaur was handed over to the Australian military for conversion to a hospital ship, as her small size made her suitable for operating in Maritime Southeast Asia.

Diving & visiting

In April 2008, following the successful discovery of HMAS Sydney, several parties began calling for a dedicated search for Centaur. By the end of 2008, the Australian Federal and Queensland State governments had formed a joint committee and contributed A$2 million each towards a search, and tenders to supply equipment (including the search vessel, side-scan sonar systems, and a remotely operated inspection submersible) were opened in February 2009, and awarded during the year. The search, conducted from the Defence Maritime Services vessel Seahorse Spirit and overseen by shipwreck hunter David Mearns, commenced during the weekend of 12–13 December 2009.

In 1948, Queensland nurses established the "Centaur Memorial Fund for Nurses" which used the money raised to purchase an establishment and name it "Centaur House"; a facility supporting nurses by holding convivial meetings and providing inexpensive accommodation for out-of-town nurses. The original Centaur House was sold in 1971, a new building being purchased and renamed. The second Centaur House was sold in 1979 and although the fund still exists, it no longer owns a physical facility. On 15 September 1968, a cairn was unveiled at Caloundra, Queensland, erected by the local Rotary International Club.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article AHS Centaur (revision 1379716427), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Discovery”, “Memorials”; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.

Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).

Nearby wrecks

• Duke of York 1837 · 68 km
• SS Tyalgum 1939 · 107 km
• Cherry Venture 1973 · 168 km

Browse more: Oceania wrecks · wrecks off Australia · Coral Sea · Second World War

Further reading

• Wikipedia: AHS Centaur
• Wikidata Q686392