"In the beginning"

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The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily the views of the blog management, (on the other hand, they are not necessarily not the views of the blog management).

No effort has been made to stay within the bounds of the truth in this blog as it has always been the view of the management that the truth should never be allowed to stand in the way of a good story.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Lost Warship HMAS Sydney Found


A 67 year maritime mystery was solved n March 15 2008 when the
sunken remains of HMAS Sydney was discovered in 2500 meter
deep water 150 klms off the West Australian coast.

After a naval engagement with the German Cruiser Kormoron
which was disguised as a Dutch merchant vessel, as the Sydney
approached to within 1000 metres the Kormoron attacked with
artillery and torpedoes, in the following battle the Kormoron
was sunk, survivors from the Kormoron were the last to see the
Sydney which sank with all crew on board.

There were 645 Australian naval personnel lost with the Sydney
and the location of the wreck has been a mystery all these years since.

Click on photos to enbiggen


There is a magnificent memorial to the Sydney in the WA coastal city of
Geraldton, it has a memorial wall with the names and ratings of all
who were lost from her, there is a domed structure with 645
stainless steel seagulls in flight adorning the roof, this represents
the 645 men lost on the Sydney.



The final resting places of both the Kormoron and the Sydney have been declared "War Graves"
and as such are forever protected from looters and souvenir hunters.

11 comments:

kenju said...

Peter, it is just fascinating to me that they could discover a boat that has been down that long! (as long as I have been alive)

Dave said...

All gave some,
Some gave all.

War is such a sad thing.... my heart goes out to all th sailors lost, and their families.

What a beautiful memorial for them... only goes to show, a great loss like that is the same all over the world Peter.

Thank you for sharing this with me/us.

Walker said...

Finding them is like bringing them finally home to those who love them.

Joy Des Jardins said...

So many lost lives....

It's a lovely memorial to all...thanks Peter.

LZ Blogger said...

Peter ~ It seems like a very nice tribute. Have you ever seen the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii? It is a floating memorial over where the ship is laying on the bottom of the harbor. It is almost a surreal feeling taking a boat out to it and then standing there over those lost sailors entombed there. ~ jb///

Attie said...

What a find of a sad loss. I 'll have to read more on it!!

Attie said...

Funny i googled it you come on first!!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to read the mystery is solved.

God bless the Aussies, our staunchest allies!

Pamela said...

hardly anyone left who remembers that day, I'm sure.

The seagull dome is absolutely breathtaking. What a great tribute.

We have a distant relative who lies in the Arizona in Pearl Harbor. Have yet to go pay our respects.

Rachel said...

How wonderful that they finally were able to find this, but so sad the loss of lives. The memorial looks really nice.

Thanks Peter!

Hale McKay said...

Peter,

How was she found? A team like those led by Bob Ballard who found the Titanic and many others?

This will probably show up soon on cable, I'll keep an eye out for it and check the listings weekly.

I hope you had a good Easter.