Queensland Liberal Senator, Russell Trood, today added his voice to calls for the Rudd Government to fund a search to locate the wreckage of the A.H.S. Centaur. Senator Trood is taking a close personal interest in the quest as a result of a strong family connection to the tragedy.
The Centaur was sunk by a Japanese submarine off the Queensland coast on 14 May 1943.
Senator Trood’s father, Cyril (generally known as “Peter”) who died in 1994, was a member of the 2/12th Field Ambulance and should have been with the unit when it embarked on the Centaur's last tragic voyage.
"My father did not speak a great deal about the war while I was growing up, but he often recalled the events surrounding the sinking of the Centaur and was always deeply troubled by the acute sense of loss he felt at losing so many close mates,” Senator Trood said.
“He visited the Point Danger memorial several times during his frequent visits to Queensland," Senator Trood said.
Senator Trood said that the sinking of the Centaur, a clearly marked and illuminated hospital ship, was a particularly brutal act of war which resulted in the loss of 268 lives including a large proportion of the members of the 2/12th Field Ambulance.
“Although the loss of the Centaur is commemorated regularly and there are several memorials, locating the wreck would enable the final resting place of the ship to be recognised as a maritime war grave. This would provide closure for the ever-thinning ranks of the friends and family of the victims and survivors of the sinking," Senator Trood said.
Peter was not with his unit when it boarded the ship, because he was hospitalised in Sydney with a severe bout of pleurisy.
He was preparing to return to his unit on the day the Centaur sailed to its fate.
“It is now time for this tragic episode in Australia's wartime history to be drawn to a close. I will do everything I can to press the Rudd government to make an immediate commitment of funds to assist search efforts,” Senator Trood said.
"For my part, I will also be making a donation to the Centaur Association search fund," Senator Trood said.