Qld wreck not Centaur

The now unidentified wreck off Cape Moreton.

By LCDR John Sperring

The Royal Australian Navy has confirmed that a wreck located 10 nautical miles east of Cape Moreton is not the Centaur.

This follows searches by the minehunters HMAS Yarra and Hawkesbury in late May and the hydrographic ship HMAS Melville in June.

Army Hospital Ship (AHS) Centaur was underway on the early morning of May 14 1943 when a torpedo fired by the Japanese submarine I-117 struck her. The ship sank in about 11 minutes taking with her 268 nurses, doctors, orderlies, ship’s company and others. There were 64 survivors, of whom only eight are still alive.

The wreck in question was discovered by a Navy minesweeper in 1995 and identified as the AHS following local advice. Now, video footage and sonar data proves conclusively that the wreck is not Centaur.

While there is speculation that the wreck is the former Kyogle, which was sunk by RAAF as a target ship in May 1951, Navy cannot accurately confirm the identity of the wreck at this time.

Hydrographer CAPT Bruce Kafer said the Navy had conducted several searches of a wreck off Cape Moreton in response to significant public interest in the position of the wreck.

“An intact wreck was located at a depth of 174 metres. It has a length of 55 metres, which is significantly shorter than Centaur’s length of 96 metres.

“I have reviewed the search reports in conjunction with construction information about the Centaur, and have concluded that the wreck lying 10 nautical miles off Cape Moreton is not her.

“This will hopefully relieve some anxiety felt by the families and friends of those people lost when the Centaur was sunk,” he said.

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