The 80th anniversary of the sinking of the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was commemorated at Mona Vale Headland on Sunday 14 May.
The event, held by Pittwater RSL Sub-Branch was attended by Pittwater MO Rory Amon, Mackellar MP Dr Sophie Scamps, many Returned Services League (RSL) NSW members and families who lost relatives in the tragic event.
Commander Dr Douglas Falconer, a doctor in the Royal Australian Navy, retold the events of Friday 14 May 1943, when the Centaur was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, the point of impact being an oil fuel tank. The fuel ignited and the Centaur went up in flames.
The ship had been on its way to Papua New Guinea to collect wounded soldiers at the time of the attack.
AHS Centaur sank off Queensland’s coast in just two or three minutes and there was no time for signals or to launch boats. There were 332 people on board and 268 were lost. Only 63 men and one woman survived.