69th anniversary of the invasion of Rabaul and the sinking of the Montevideo Maru The Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Society will commemorate the 69th anniversary of the invasion of Rabaul and the sinking of the Montevideo Maru by arranging a number of events in Canberra on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd July 2011 The Montevideo Maru
1 July 1942 The loss of the Montevideo Maru remains Australia's worst maritime disaster. It was carrying more than 1050 Australian prisoners, captured on New Britain and New Ireland, when it was sunk by the American submarine USS Sturgeon. None of the prisoners survived.
Garrett leads tribute to war horror victims Max Blenkin July 3, 2011 Recalling sea tragedy ... Mr Garrett. Photo: Craig Sillitoe ROCK star turned federal minister Peter Garrett's 1993 single In the Valley paid tribute to the grandfather he never knew. ''My grandfather went down with the Montevideo. The rising sun sent him floating to his rest,'' he sang. Next year Tom Garrett, a New Guinea planter, is set to be commemorated, with more than 1000 others who died in Australia's worst maritime disaster. That was the sinking of the Montevideo Maru, a Japanese ship carrying prisoners of war, torpedoed by submarine USS Sturgeon off the Philippines on July 1, 1942. Aboard were 1053 prisoners - 845 Australian servicemen, 208 Australian civilians plus a small group of Norwegian seamen - all being transported from Rabaul to Hainan Island to be used as slave labour. None survived. It is not known for sure but it is likely that all drowned, locked in the hold of the sinking ship. The Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Society, of which Mr Garrett, 58, is patron, is raising funds for a suitable memorial in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial. That will be dedicated on the 70th anniversary next year. In Canberra yesterday, relatives and friends of those lost on the Montevideo Maru gathered for a memorial lunch. It will be followed by a church service at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, today. The tragedy touched families across the nation. Also among those lost were the Reverend Sidney Beazley, uncle of former opposition leader and government minister Kim Beazley, and Harold Page, the brother of Earle Page, who was prime minister for 20 days in 1939. Mr Garrett said the loss of the Montevideo Maru had a significance that still was not fully comprehended by Australians. ''That's starting to change,'' he said. ''It is long overdue that the event itself is appropriately recognised and commemorated.'' Mr Garrett said his grandfather settled in New Britain after World War I, running a copra and coco plantation. Garrett snr was described in one of the Society newsletters as a ''hale fellow well met who didn't mind a drink from time to time''. ''I have discovered that my reflections [in In the Valley] are similar to some others that I have subsequently read inasmuch as the family knew relatively little about the history of the Montevideo Maru,'' Mr Garrett said. ''There was no public commemorations that we could respond to as a family. I suspect like many other families it just went back into the closet. ''This is where families keep histories that aren't fully explained or perhaps a bit uncomfortable.'' The Japanese were aware of the Montevideo Maru's loss (a few sailors made it ashore) but they neglected to notify the Red Cross. Consequently, the families in Australia went through the entire war believing their loved ones were still alive in Japanese captivity. AAP Read more: Garrett leads tribute to war horror victims
The War Report for the USS Sturgeon for the 1 July 1942 can be found here: USS Sturgeon 1 July 1942 pictures by BFBSM - Photobucket Images are from Footnote.com. Mark
