바다 속으로 가라앉은 ‘1000명의 포로’...2차 대전 일본 침몰선, 81년 만에 발견
입력 2023.04.22
일본 포로수송선, 1942년 필리핀 인근서 침몰
잔해는 수거 안 해..."유족에 경의 표하는 차원"
1942년 포로 1,000여 명을 태우던 중 미 해군 잠수함에 어뢰를 맞아 침몰한 일본 수송선 몬테비데오마루호. 위키피디아 캡처
제2차 세계대전 당시 호주인 포로 천 명을 운반하다 침몰한 일본 수송선이 81년 만에 심해에서 발견됐다고 AFP통신 등이 22일(현지시간) 보도했다.
보도에 따르면, 해양고고학기관 ‘사일런트월트’ 재단은 최근 필리핀 루손섬 북서쪽의 4,000미터 심해에서 가라앉은 수송선 ‘몬테비데오 마루’의 위치를 파악했다. 이 배는 1942년 필리핀 인근에서 미군 잠수함의 공격을 받고 침몰했다. 몬테비데오 마루호 침몰은 호주 역사상 최악의 해양 참사로 여겨져 왔으나, 구체적인 침몰 위치는 수십 년 간 파악되지 못한 상태였다.
사일런트월트 재단은 5년간의 준비 작업을 거쳐 지난 6일부터 음파탐지기와 수중 자율주행 탐사정 등을 동원해 수송선의 위치를 찾기 시작했다. 재단은 “1912년 침몰한 타이타닉호보다 더 깊은 심해에서 발견했다”고 말했다. 다만 유족에 경의를 표하는 차원에서 발견된 잔해는 수거하지 않는다.
당시 수송선에는 850명의 군인과 민간인 210명 등 14개국 포로 1,060명이 탑승 중이었다. 그중에는 호주인의 비중이 979명으로 제일 많았다. 몬테비데오 마루호를 공격한 미군 잠수함은 포로가 탑승 중이라는 사실을 파악하지 못한 것으로 알려졌다.
앤서니 앨버니지 호주 총리는 “이번 소식이 오랫동안 기도를 해온 유족들에게 어느 정도 위로가 되기를 바란다”고 밝혔다. 이 침몰사고로 할아버지와 종조할아버지를 잃었던 앤드리아 윌리엄스는 현지 매체에 “오늘은 이 재난과 연관이 있는 호주인 모두에게 특별히 중요한 날”이라고 말했다.
이유진 기자 iyz@hankookilbo.com
Montevideo Maru
 Montevideo Maru, c.1941 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan | |
| Name | MV Montevideo Maru |
| Owner | Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK) |
| Builder | Mitsubishi Zosen Kakoki Kaisha, Nagasaki |
| Laid down | 9 September 1925 |
| Launched | 15 April 1926 |
| Completed | 14 August 1926 |
| In service | August 1926 |
| Out of service | 1 July 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk, 1 July 1942 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type | Santos Maru |
| Type | refrigerated passenger/cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 7,267 GRT |
| Length | 430 ft (130 m) |
| Beam | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Draught | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) |
Montevideo Maru was a Japanese auxiliary ship during World War II. It was sunk by the American submarine USS Sturgeon on 22 June 1942, drowning 1,054 Australians aboard – prisoners of war and civilians who were being transported from Rabaul to Hainan. The sinking is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history. The wreck of the Montevideo Maru was discovered in 2023.
Pre-war history[edit]
Montevideo Maru was one of three ships (along with Santos Maru and La Plata Maru) of the Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK) shipping line built for their trans-Pacific service to South America. The 7,267-ton ship was constructed at the Mitsubishi Zosen Kakoki Kaisha shipyard at Nagasaki, and launched in 1926.[1] At 430 feet (130 metres) in length, and 56 ft (17 m) in the beam, she was powered by two Mitsubishi-Sulzer 6ST60 six-cylinder diesel engines delivering a total of 4,600 horsepower (3,400 kilowatts) and giving her a speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 kilometres per hour; 16.7 miles per hour).[1] Prior to the war, the ship operated as a passenger and cargo vessel, travelling mainly between Japan and Brazil carrying Japanese emigrants.[2]
World War II service[edit]
Montevideo Maru participated in the invasion of Makassar, Sulawesi (then Celebes) from 6 to 16 February, 1942. It completed a number of transport missions before being sunk.[3]
Sinking[edit]
On 22 June 1942, some weeks after the fall of Rabaul to the Japanese, many Australian prisoners were embarked from Rabaul's port onto Montevideo Maru. She was proceeding without escort to the Chinese island of Hainan, when she was sighted by the American submarine USS Sturgeon near the northern Philippine coast on 30 June.[4]
Sturgeon pursued, but was unable to fire, as the target was travelling at 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph).[4] It slowed to about 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) at midnight. According to crewman Yoshiaki Yamaji, it was to rendezvous with an escort of two destroyers.[4] Unaware that it was carrying Allied prisoners of war and civilians, Sturgeon fired four torpedoes at Montevideo Maru before dawn on 1 July, causing the vessel to sink in only 11 minutes. According to Yamaji, Australians in the water sang "Auld Lang Syne" to their trapped comrades as the ship sank beneath the waves.[5]
The sinking is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history. A nominal list made available by the Japanese government in 2012 revealed that a total of 1,054 prisoners (178 non-commissioned officers, 667 soldiers and 209 civilians) died on the Montevideo Maru.[6] Among those perished there were 35 sailors from the Norwegian merchant ship MV Herstein. Of the ship's total complement, approximately twenty Japanese crew survived, out of an original 88 guards and crew.[7]
Among the missing prisoners were:
- Harold Page, deputy administrator of New Guinea and brother of Australian prime minister Earle Page.[8]
- Reverend Syd Beazley of the Methodist Mission, the uncle of future Australian Labor Party leader Kim Beazley.[9]
- Tom Vernon Garrett, the grandfather of Midnight Oil lead singer and government minister Peter Garrett.[10]
- Neill Ross Callaghan, the great uncle of an assistant minister of defence Andrew Hastie.[11]
- 22 Salvation Army bandsmen, the majority being members of the Brunswick Citadel band. The bandsmen had enlisted together and comprised the majority of the band of the 2/22nd Battalion.[12]
Discovery of the wreck[edit]
In late January 2010, Federal Member of Parliament, Stuart Robert, called upon the then Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, to back the search for Montevideo Maru, in the same way that he had supported the search for AHS Centaur.[13]
On 18 April 2023, the wreck of the Montevideo Maru was discovered at a depth of over 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the South China Sea, off the northwest coast of Luzon Island using technology from Dutch underwater search specialist Fugro. [14] Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he hoped the news would bring a "measure of comfort to loved ones who have kept a long vigil."[15] Silentworld Foundation director John Mullens said in a statement that the site would not be disturbed because it is a war grave.[16][17]
Memorials[edit]
A memorial to those who lost their lives was erected at the Repatriation Hospital, Bell Street, Heidelberg, Melbourne, Victoria (Australia). A Montevideo Maru memorial has been erected near the centre of the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial in Ballarat, Victoria. A commemoration service was held at the unveiling of the memorial in February 2004.[18][19]
The song "In the Valley" from the album Earth and Sun and Moon by Australian pop/rock band Midnight Oil opens with the autobiographical line, "My grandfather went down with the Montevideo/The Rising Sun sent him floating to his rest," sung by Peter Garrett.[10]
Controversies[edit]
Cause of deaths[edit]
Some have questioned whether some or all of the POWs were aboard the ship and not massacred earlier. Others believe that some of the Australians survived, only to die later.[5] Of the known survivors, the only one to ever be questioned was former merchant seaman Yoshiaki Yamaji. In a 2003 The 7:30 Report interview, he stated that he was told that some of the POWs had been picked up and taken to Kobe.[5]
Veteran Albert Speer, who served in New Guinea, believes that survivors were transported to Sado Island, only to perish days before the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan. Professor Hank Nelson considers it unlikely that any Japanese ship would have stopped to rescue prisoners with a hostile submarine nearby.[5]
The Rabaul garrison has been described as a "sacrificial lamb" by David Day.[20] Lark Force was left without reinforcements, and instructed not to withdraw in accordance with official War Cabinet policy at the time in regards to small garrisons.[21] Harold Page, the senior government official in the territory, was instructed to evacuate only "unnecessary" civilians and was refused permission to evacuate any administrative staff. He was listed among those killed on the Montevideo Maru.[22]
Number of casualties[edit]
It has been historically difficult to determine a definitive number of the dead. As late as 2010, Australia's Minister for Defence Personnel, Alan Griffin, stated that "there is no absolutely confirmed roll".[6] Australian Army officer Major Harold S Williams' 1945 list of the Australian dead was lost, along with the original Japanese list in katakana it had been compiled from; these challenges have been exacerbated by the forensic difficulties of recovering remains lost at sea.[23][24]
In 2012, the Japanese government handed over thousands of POW documents to the Australian government. The Montevideo Maru's manifest, which contained the names of all the Australians on board, was among them. The translation of the manifest was released in June 2012, confirming a total of 1,054 Australians, of which 845 were from Lark Force.[25]
The new translation corrected a longstanding historical error in the number of civilians who went down with the ship. There were 209, not 208 as previously thought. This is not an additional casualty. Rather, the historical number was simply inaccurate.[6]
Sources continue to contradict each other regarding the number of Japanese crew who survived. Some reports indicate that 17 Japanese seamen and three guards survived.[26][27]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Montevideo Maru 1926-1942 OSK Lines". Derby Sulzers. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Japanese Transports". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
- ^ "Japanese Transports". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
- ^ a b c Rod Miller (2003). "The Montevideo Maru". montevideomaru.info. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Mark Simkin (6 October 2003). "Silence broken on Australia's worst maritime disaster". The 7:30 Report. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
- ^ a b c "Montevideo Maru - About the List". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ "Montevideo Maru – The sinking of the Montevideo Maru, 1 July 1942". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ Sweeting, A. J. (1988). "Page, Harold Hillis (1888–1942)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 11.
- ^ "House of Representatives Official Hansard" (PDF). No. 10, 2010 Forty-second Parliament First Session—Eighth Period. Commonwealth of Australia. 21 June 2010. pp. 71, 214. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ a b "In The Valley". midnight-oil.info. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ Yim, Noah (13 April 2023). "At last, his resting place is known: Andrew Hastie's tribute to great uncle lost on SS Montevideo Maru, as WWII wreckage discovered". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ One Bloke's Story, Rob Mitchell, page 22
- ^ Robert, Stuart. "Now for Montevideo Maru". ABC Online. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ Law, Heather (21 April 2023). "World War II shipwreck of SS Montevideo Maru, which sank with over 1,000 POWs, found in South China Sea". CNN. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ Galloway, Anthony. "'Measure of comfort': Wreckage from Australia's worst maritime disaster found". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ Ives, Mark (22 April 2023). "Japanese Ship, Torpedoed in 1942 With P.O.W.s Aboard, Is Found". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ Morris-Grant, Brianna (22 April 2023). "SS Montevideo Maru shipwreck found 81 years after Australia's worst maritime disaster". Australia Broadcasting Corporation News. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ "Montevideo Maru Memorial at Ballarat POW Memorial". Lost Lives. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ Montevideo Maru, Lost Lives quoting Margaret Reeson, A Very Long War: The Families Who Waited, MUP, 2000. Retrieved 29 January 2010
- ^ David Day (2006). John Curtin: a life. Pymble, N.S.W.: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780732280000.
- ^ "Montevideo Maru - Lost Lives - The Second World War and the Islands of New Guinea". Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ Twomey, Christina (2007). Australia's Forgotten Prisoners: Civilians Interned by the Japanese in World War Two. Cambridge University Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0521612890.
- ^ "Death - The Last Taboo". Australian Museum. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ Brendan Borrell (10 June 2009). "How Long Do Dead Bodies Remain Intact in the Ocean?". Scientific American. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ "Montevideo Maru – The worst maritime disaster in Australian history". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ Alice M. Bowman. "MV Montevideo Maru - A Japanese Prison Ship". Claire Déglon Marriott. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ Margaret Reeson, A Very Long War, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2000, 200 pp. p. 60
External links[edit]
- People of the Plaque, a tribute to civilians from New Ireland who died in the war
- A Story of the Salvos, Compass, ABC television, 20 April 2008
- Lark Force, part of the Australian Army garrison on Rabaul
- "Montevideo Maru remembered 70 years on" – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The ship at the centre of the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history has been discovered more than 4,000 metres beneath the sea, 81 years after it sank.
Key points:
- Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by a US submarine, which did not know it was carrying prisoners of war and civilians
- The wreck was found after almost two weeks of searching in the South China Sea
- It will not be disturbed and no remains will be taken
Japanese transport ship SS Montevideo Maru sank with about 979 Australian troops and civilians on July 1, 1942, off the coast of the Philippines.
It was torpedoed by an American submarine, which did not know it was carrying prisoners of war and civilians captured in Rabaul.
In total, about 1,060 prisoners were lost, including 850 service members and 210 civilians from 14 countries.
The location of the wreck has remained a mystery for decades — until now.
SS Montevideo Maru was found after 12 days of searching in the South China Sea, by a team led by not-for-profit Silentworld Foundation, deep-sea survey specialists Fugro and supported by the Department of Defence.
The wreckage will not be disturbed, and no human remains or artefacts will be removed. The site, which sits deeper than the wreck of the Titanic, will be recorded for research purposes.
Features found on scans of the wreckage, including the hold, the foremast, and the curve of the bow, match those found on drawings of the Montevideo Maru.
Silentworld Foundation director John Mullens told ABC News Breakfast there were mixed emotions on board the ship when the discovery was made.
"We're looking at the gravesite of over 1,000 people," he said.
"We lost nearly twice as many [Australians] as in the whole of the Vietnam War, so it's extraordinarily significant for families and descendants.
"[The significance] is a mixture of the technical challenge, which is absorbing and motivating … but on the other side of it is the human side.
"When we first saw the images coming up of the ship no-one had seen for 80 years, since that terrible night, it was pretty emotional stuff.
"We had two people on board who had family members who were lost, so while on the one side there were cheers, on the other there were a few tears. It was very emotional."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he hoped the discovery would bring "a measure of comfort" to the families of the victims.
"The extraordinary effort behind this discovery speaks for the enduring truth of Australia's solemn national promise to always remember and honour those who served our country," he said.
"This is the heart and the spirit of Lest We Forget."
Years of research and underwater scans led to 'tomb'
The discovery was a long time in the making for technical director and submarine specialist Captain Roger Turner, who spent years researching the wreck to narrow down its location.
"We had Japanese researchers and American researchers helping to put together the story," he told ABC News.
"There was a lot of information out there but ours was the first time it had all been considered in one breath and put together in an argument that demonstrated where we hoped to find it.
"We should refer to it as not a wreck but a tomb. It's where more than 1,100 souls now lie at peace."
The team conducted "bottom contour mapping" to initially locate the Montevideo, Mr Turner said.
"[That] allowed us to program an autonomous underwater vehicle so that it could then fly at a constant height over the sea bed," he said.
"The sea bed was actually delightfully, boringly flat, which was great because then it meant anything we might find would stand out and be easy to identify.
"Then, when we got the information back from [our third search], there were the obstacles on the bottom very recognisable as the Montevideo Maru."
He added there was still a lot of work to do to unpack the information revealed by the scans and underwater vehicles.
"As we speak, the [underwater vehicle] is conducting a more detailed search of the debris field underneath the ship," he said.
"We hope that will bring back still more clues as to the succession of events."
'Hugely emotional' moment for families
The discovery has come as a form of closure for families, including Noosa woman Cathy Parry-McLennan, whose grandfather Arthur Parry was a radiologist on the ship when it went down.
She said her grandmother and her father, just 13 years old when Dr Parry went missing, waited years to find out what happened.
"[My grandmother] was evacuated with my father and his siblings to Sydney, and then she was told on October 30, 1945," she said.
"I just remember my father telling me for years they didn't know what had happened to him.
"They knew he'd been in New Guinea, he writes them letters … there'd been stories he'd been beheaded, that he might still be in hiding, and then they got the telegram.
"It's a lovely thing to have received this and know that he's been found."
For her father, Colwyn Parry, there had always been a "great sense of loss but a great love as well" for his missing father, Ms Parry-McLennan said.
"My father was so proud of him," she said.
"He always talked about his father as being loving, as being a bit of a jokester."
Dr Parry had been working in Papua New Guinea for the local health department, and was not allowed to return to Australia when the war broke out, instead staying on as a doctor in Rabaul and Kokopo.
He declined evacuation when the situation grew more serious, according to a 1958 article retelling the story of the Japanese Army's arrival in Rabaul.
"[A Kokopo plantationer said], 'The situation is grim, would you like to come with us? Do you have any other escape avenues?'" read the article, which was saved by Colwyn Parry and passed on to his daughter after his death six years ago.
"Arthur Parry shook his head and said, 'I cannot go. There are 200 boys in this hospital and I must stay and do what I must to look after them.'"
Other families lost multiple members of their family, including the Turners of NSW, whose three young sons Sidney, Dudley and Daryl all enlisted together in Australia's first commando group.
On board the search vessel when the wreck was discovered was Andrea Williams, who lost both her grandfather and her great uncle in the disaster.
Ms Williams is a founding member of the Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Society, which represents the interests of the descendants.
"Today is an extraordinarily momentous day for all Australians connected with this tragic disaster," Ms Williams said.
"Having had a grandfather and great-uncle as civilian internees on Montevideo Maru always meant the story was important to me, as it is to so many generations of families whose men perished.
"I could never understand why it was not a more powerful part of our Australian WWII history.
"Being part of the Silentworld team that has found the wreck has been both hugely emotional and also fulfilling."
Chair of the Australian War Memorial Kim Beazley described the discovery of SS Montevideo Maru as a "monumental moment in war history".
The former federal opposition leader's uncle, Syd Beazley, was among those on board the ship and was lost in the tragedy.
"Finding the site of Australia's most devastating loss at sea will help heal Australia's collective memory for generations," Mr Beazley said.
"This has solved a Second World War mystery and my family's history."
In 2009 Mr Beazley joined relatives urging the federal government to launch a search for the wreck.
"This discovery is connected to an enormous Australian tragedy, both from massacres on land and the huge loss of life at sea," Mr Beazley said.
"This is a monumental moment in history and for the families who have agonised and grieved about what happened to their loved ones on this ill-fated ship."
Australian Army Chief Lieutenant General Simon Stuart said those involved had met a "terrible fate at sea".
"Today we remember their service, and the loss of all those aboard, including the 20 Japanese guards and crew, the Norwegian sailors and the hundreds of civilians from many nations," he said.
"I want to thank the Silentworld team and the dedicated researchers, including the Unrecovered War Casualties team at army, who have never given up hope of finding the final resting place of the Montevideo Maru."
"A loss like this reaches down through the decades and reminds us all of the human cost of conflict."
Letters from long-dead loved ones
The Japanese prisoner of war ship was transporting Australians and others to Hainan Island when it was sunk by US Navy submarine the USS Sturgeon.
The Sturgeon fired its four torpedoes at the Montevideo Maru. Lifeboats onboard the vessel were launched, but all capsized and the ship sank in less than 11 minutes.
Many families were not told of their relatives' deaths for years.
Also on board the Montevideo Maru were Australian soldiers who had been stationed with Lark Force at Rabaul. They were captured by conquering Japanese soldiers just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbour.
Months later, hundreds of handwritten letters written by the men were dropped from the skies by Japanese bombers over Port Moresby.
By the time they reached their intended destination, all of the authors were dead.
Among them was Ronald Freeman, a gunner with the 17th anti-tank battery in Rabaul, who signed off a letter to his pregnant wife Dorothy and his two-year-old daughter Vicki: "I love you, I love. Kiss Vicki for me. Your loving husband."
A memorial was unveiled in 2012 to commemorate the disaster, with the ceremony attended by then-federal education minister Peter Garrett, whose grandfather, Tom Garrett, was one of the civilians who died on the Montevideo Maru.
The National Archives of Australia also launched a new website at the time listing all the names available of those on board, including a complete translated copy of the Japanese military's list of victims.
The deaths were not fully revealed until the end of the war. Relatives are able to search for family members and add their own photographs and messages to pay tribute to their loved ones.
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