Centaur Hospital Ship image
courtesy of the Australian War Memorial, accession no. 302800
Centaur poster image
courtesy of the Australian War Memorial accession no. Awmart09088
Ministerial Statement in Queensland Parliament by Premier Anna Bligh, 14 May 2008
Mr Speaker,
Today is a day of great significance in this state’s history.
On 12 May, 1943 the hospital ship Centaur left Sydney bound for Port Moresby.
On board were 332 Aussies; including Merchant Navy crew, medical staff, nurses of the Australian Army Nursing Service, and men of the 2/12th Field Ambulance and 44 others.
There is no doubt the Centaur was a hospital ship.
As it steamed through the night all the lights were on. On its sides were thick green horizontal stripes and three large red crosses. Painted on her bow was the number 47.
This was the Centaur's international Red Cross registration number clearly identifying her as a hospital ship.
At 4.10 am on 14 May – 65 years ago today - the Centaur was east of the Cape Moreton Light.
The Centaur was hit by a torpedo fired from Japanese Submarine 1-177.
Of the 332 on board just 64 survived. Among those lost - were 45 Queenslanders - and there were six Queensland survivors.
Mr Speaker I table the Australian Military Forces Hospital Ship Centaur’s Survivors and Casualties list. The QX before each Aussie’s service number identifies the Queenslanders.
Mr Speaker the mystery of Centaur’s final resting place remains to this day with estimates that she lies about 24 nautical miles off North Stradbroke Island.
Mr Speaker it is hoped that one days she is found and today our thoughts are with the family and kin of those who lost their lives.
In 1995 it was announced the Centaur had been found, however five years later the wreck assumed to be the hospital ship was confirmed as definitely not the Centaur.
Mr Speaker - I want to thank my Parliamentary Secretary for Veterans Affairs, the Member for Mansfield Phil Reeves and the Member for Cleveland Phil Weightman for bringing this significant date to my attention.
Centaur’s sinking and the subsequent loss of so many lives rightfully outraged the nation.
The sinking was the subject of rallying cries when all-but one of the 12 nurses on board was killed. “Avenge the nurses” posters were everywhere. They were used to raise funds for war loans.
Commemorative posters and postal stamps have since been linked to the sinking and such was the community response here in Queensland in 1948, the State’s nurses established the "Centaur Memorial Fund for Nurses" which raised money to establish "Centaur House" - a facility supporting out-of-town nurses with suitable accommodation.
As well there are many Centaur memorials across the nation – including those at Point Danger, Caloundra, Tweed Heads, Sydney’s Concord Repatriation Hospital and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Last reviewed 14 May 2008
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