For more than 66 years the wrecks of two ships destroyed in what is still Australia’s worst ever naval disaster sat silently on the ocean floor, their location a mystery.

HMAS Sydney II and the German raider HSK Kormoran both sank after a short, fierce battle in November 1941. 81 men from Kormoran died. All 645 men on Sydney were lost.

Located in 2008, 200km west of Shark Bay and 2,500m deep, the wrecks’ discovery and inspection helped shed light on one of Australia’s most enduring maritime mysteries. Now protected under Commonwealth law, the wrecks are on the National and Commonwealth Heritage Lists.

In 2015 the Western Australian Museum and Curtin University, with vital assistance from DOF Subsea, the Commonwealth Government, and other supporters, returned to the wrecks and captured stunning underwater images that revealed much about the fate of the ships on the seabed.

WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said Deep Light, Illuminating the Wrecks of Sydney and Kormoran is a poignant exhibition, featuring remarkable images taken during that expedition, interviews with the families of those who were lost, and a moving 3D film of the wreck sites, From Great Depths.

“The wreck sites of Sydney and Kormoran have a special association with the Australian community,” Mr Coles said.

“This is especially true for the family and friends of all of the men who were lost, as these sites are their final resting places.

“Over two kilometres beneath the waves, the ocean is pitch black. The technology used to capture these images reveals new information about that fateful day in 1941 and allows us to reflect on the devastation of war.  It also shows the extraordinary ways in which nature can colonise and reclaim even the most hostile places, as is evidenced by the extraordinary ‘anemone garden’ now established on the Kormoran.”

The exhibition and film were curated by local producer Robyn Johnston, with assistance from noted military historian and author Wes Olson.

Deep Light opens at the WA Shipwrecks Museum on Saturday 12 September until Sunday 31 January 2021. 

Entry to this exhibition is free. Deep Light is available for education group bookings during school term. For more information and learning resources to support the exhibition, visit museum.wa.gov.au/museums/shipwrecks

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Media contact
Flora Perrella
Western Australian Museum
flora.perrella@museum.wa.gov.au