Montevideo Maru

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 {{GRT|7,267|disp=adj}} ship was constructed at the Mitsubishi Zosen Kakoki Kaisha shipyard at Nagasaki, and launched in 1926. At {{convert|430|ft|abbr=off|order=flip}} in length, and {{cvt|56|ft|order=flip}} in the beam, it was powered by two Mitsubishi-Sulzer 6ST60 six-cylinder diesel engines delivering a total of {{convert|4600|hp|order=flip}} and giving it a speed of {{convert|14.5|kn|km/h}}.

Before the war, the ship operated as a passenger and cargo vessel, travelling mainly between Japan and Brazil carrying Japanese emigrants.{{cite web |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/Montevideo_t.htm |title=Japanese Transports |website=Combinedfleet.com |access-date=7 January 2023 |archive-date=6 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506041703/http://www.combinedfleet.com/Montevideo_t.htm |url-status=live }}

Montevideo Maru participated in the invasion of Makassar, Sulawesi (then Celebes) from 6 to 16 February, 1942. It completed several transport missions before being sunk.

On 22 June 1942, approximately four months after the fall of Rabaul to the Japanese during January/February 1942, 1,054 prisoners (mostly Australians and possibly some New Zealanders) were embarked from Rabaul's port onto Montevideo Maru.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-23 |title=Rediscovered WWII ship wreck: New Zealanders may have been on board |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/488511/rediscovered-wwii-ship-wreck-new-zealanders-may-have-been-on-board |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=RNZ |language=en-nz |archive-date=25 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425111157/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/488511/rediscovered-wwii-ship-wreck-new-zealanders-may-have-been-on-board |url-status=live }} It was proceeding without escort to the Chinese island of Hainan, when it was sighted by the American submarine {{USS|Sturgeon|SS-187|6}} near the northern Philippine coast on 30 June 1942.

Sturgeon pursued but could not fire, as the target was travelling at {{convert|17|kn|km/h}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.montevideomaru.info/Montevideo/html/Montevideo%20Maru.htm |title=The Montevideo Maru |publisher=montevideomaru.info |author=Rod Miller |year=2003 |accessdate=2008-09-25 |archive-date=27 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090127020247/http://montevideomaru.info/Montevideo/html/Montevideo%20Maru.htm |url-status=live }} Montevideo Maru slowed to about {{convert|12|kn|km/h}} at midnight, to facilitate an expected rendezvous with an escort of two destroyers. Unaware that the ship was carrying Allied prisoners of war and civilians, Sturgeon fired four torpedoes at Montevideo Maru before dawn on 1 July 1942. At least one torpedo hit, causing the vessel to take on water and sink 11 minutes later. Australians in the water sang "Auld Lang Syne" to their trapped comrades as the ship sank beneath the waves.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2003/s961016.htm |title=Silence broken on Australia's worst maritime disaster |author=Mark Simkin |work=The 7.30 Report |date=6 October 2003 |accessdate=2008-09-25|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205157/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2003/s961016.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016}}

{{Blockquote|text=There were more POWs in the water than crew members. The POWs were holding pieces of wood and using bigger pieces as rafts. They were in groups of 20 to 30 people, probably 100 people in all. They were singing songs. I was particularly impressed when they began singing Auld Lang Syne as a tribute to their dead colleagues. Watching that, I learnt that Australians have big hearts.|sign=Eyewitness Yoshiaki Yamaji, interviewed October 2003}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://montevideomaru.naa.gov.au/about/|title=Montevideo Maru – About the List|publisher=National Archives of Australia|accessdate=2012-12-31|archive-date=16 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116033006/http://montevideomaru.naa.gov.au/about/|url-status=dead}} Among the dead were 35 sailors from the Norwegian merchant ship Herstein. Based on a report made to OSK, of Montevideo Maru{{'}}s complement of 88, some 17 crew and 3 guards are believed to have survived,{{cite web|url=http://www.rabaulnurses.com.au/Montevideo%20Maru.html|publisher=Claire Déglon Marriott|author=Alice M. Bowman|title=MV Montevideo Maru – A Japanese Prison Ship|accessdate=2012-12-31|archive-date=9 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409042356/http://rabaulnurses.com.au/Montevideo%20Maru.html|url-status=live}}Margaret Reeson, A Very Long War, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2000, 200 pp. p. 60 though a total of 17 has also been claimed.{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/montevideo_maru/|title=Montevideo Maru – The sinking of the Montevideo Maru, 1 July 1942|publisher=Australian War Memorial|accessdate=2012-12-31|archive-date=21 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121070054/https://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/montevideo_maru/|url-status=live}}

Among the missing prisoners were:

• Harold Page, deputy administrator of New Guinea and brother of Australian prime minister Earle Page{{cite news|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/page-harold-hillis-7942|title=Page, Harold Hillis (1888–1942)|first=A. J.|last=Sweeting|year=1988|volume=11|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|access-date=24 March 2019|archive-date=23 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323185419/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/page-harold-hillis-7942|url-status=live}}
• Reverend Syd Beazley of the Methodist Mission, the uncle of future Australian Labor Party leader Kim Beazley{{cite web|title=House of Representatives Official Hansard|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr210610.pdf|work=No. 10, 2010 Forty-second Parliament First Session—Eighth Period|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|access-date=16 August 2010|pages=71, 214|date=21 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011035522/http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr210610.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2010}}
• Tom Vernon Garrett, the grandfather of Midnight Oil lead singer and government minister Peter Garrett
• Neill Ross Callaghan, the great-uncle of a shadow minister for defence, Andrew Hastie{{cite news |last1=Yim |first1=Noah |title=At last, his resting place is known: Andrew Hastie's tribute to great uncle lost on SS Montevideo Maru, as WWII wreckage discovered |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/at-last-his-resting-place-is-known-andrew-hasties-tribute-to-great-uncle-lost-on-ss-montevideo-maru-as-wwii-wreckage-discovered/news-story/b2c6764901d99ebd76b4e203e85bce92 |access-date=23 April 2023 |work=The Australian |publisher=News Corp Australia |date=13 April 2023 |language=en |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423012948/https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/at-last-his-resting-place-is-known-andrew-hasties-tribute-to-great-uncle-lost-on-ss-montevideo-maru-as-wwii-wreckage-discovered/news-story/b2c6764901d99ebd76b4e203e85bce92 |url-status=live }}
• 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.One Bloke's Story, Rob Mitchell, page 22
• John Laurie Ramsay, brother of future Governor of Queensland James Ramsay{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Corporal-John-Ramsay/6000000194062000824|title=Corporal John Laurie Ramsay|website=geni_family_tree|date=25 April 2023 |access-date=26 April 2023|archive-date=26 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426054524/https://www.geni.com/people/Corporal-John-Ramsay/6000000194062000824|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web |author=Robert, Stuart |title=Now for Montevideo Maru |url=http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/34200.html |accessdate=29 January 2010 |work=ABC Online |archive-date=1 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401154613/http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/34200.html |url-status=live }}

On 18 April 2023, the wreck of the Montevideo Maru was discovered at a depth of over {{convert|4000|m|abbr=on}} in the South China Sea, off the northwest coast of Luzon, using technology from Dutch underwater search specialist Fugro.{{cite web |last=Law |first=Heather |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/21/asia/montevideo-maru-found-south-china-sea-intl-hnk/index.html |title=World War II shipwreck of SS Montevideo Maru, which sank with over 1,000 POWs, found in South China Sea |publisher=CNN |date=21 April 2023 |accessdate=22 April 2023 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422054908/https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/21/asia/montevideo-maru-found-south-china-sea-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live }} 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".{{cite web |author=Galloway, Anthony |title='Measure of comfort': Wreckage from Australia's worst maritime disaster found |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/measure-of-comfort-wreckage-from-australia-s-worst-maritime-disaster-found-20230422-p5d2h9.html |accessdate=22 April 2023 |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=22 April 2023 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422010309/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/measure-of-comfort-wreckage-from-australia-s-worst-maritime-disaster-found-20230422-p5d2h9.html |url-status=live }} Silentworld Foundation director John Mullens said in a statement that the site would not be disturbed because it is a war grave.{{Cite web |last=Ives |first=Mark |date=22 April 2023 |title=Japanese Ship, Torpedoed in 1942 With P.O.W.s Aboard, Is Found |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/22/world/australia/ww2-pows-shipwreck-japan-australia.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230422120542/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/22/world/australia/ww2-pows-shipwreck-japan-australia.html |archive-date=22 April 2023 |access-date=22 April 2023 |website=The New York Times}}{{Cite web |last=Morris-Grant |first=Brianna |date=22 April 2023 |title=SS Montevideo Maru shipwreck found 81 years after Australia's worst maritime disaster |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-22/montevideo-maru-wwii-shipwreck-found/102255384 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230422120934/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-22/montevideo-maru-wwii-shipwreck-found/102255384 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |access-date=22 April 2023 |website=Australia Broadcasting Corporation News}}

File:Rabaul and Montevideo Maru memorial Nov 2012.JPG in November 2012]]

A memorial to those who died was erected at the Repatriation Hospital, Bell Street, Heidelberg, Melbourne, Victoria. 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 memorial unveiling in February 2004.{{Cite web |url=http://www.jje.info/lostlives/places/mmmballarat.html |title=Montevideo Maru Memorial at Ballarat POW Memorial |work=Lost Lives |accessdate=29 January 2010 |archive-date=10 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091110155424/http://www.jje.info/lostlives/places/mmmballarat.html |url-status=live }}[http://www.jje.info/lostlives/places/montevideomaru.html Montevideo Maru] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091110133810/http://www.jje.info/lostlives/places/montevideomaru.html |date=10 November 2009 }}, Lost Lives quoting Margaret Reeson, A Very Long War: The Families Who Waited, MUP, 2000. Retrieved 29 January 2010

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.{{cite web | url=http://www.midnight-oil.info/discography/song/In-The-Valley | title=In The Valley | work=midnight-oil.info | accessdate=29 January 2010 | archive-date=31 May 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531005722/http://www.midnight-oil.info/discography/song/In-The-Valley | url-status=live }}

Australian veteran Albert Speer (no relation to the wartime German official, Albert Speer) argued in an interview that some of the Australians survived, only for them to die later. Speer, who served in New Guinea, claimed that survivors were transported to Sado Island, only to die days before the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan, in August 1945. Professor Hank Nelson considers it unlikely that any Japanese ship would have stopped to rescue prisoners with a hostile submarine nearby. Of the known Japanese survivors, the only one ever questioned was former merchant seaman Yoshiaki Yamaji. In a 2003 interview with The 7.30 Report, he stated that he was told that some of the POWs had been picked up and taken to Kobe.

The Rabaul garrison has been described as a "sacrificial lamb" by David Day.{{cite book|author=David Day|title=John Curtin: a life|publisher=Pymble, N.S.W.: HarperCollins|year=2006|isbn=9780732280000|page=}} Lark Force was left without reinforcements, and instructed not to withdraw, in accordance with official War Cabinet policy at the time regarding small garrisons.{{cite web|url=http://www.jje.info/lostlives/places/montevideomaru.html|title=Montevideo Maru – Lost Lives – The Second World War and the Islands of New Guinea|accessdate=2012-12-31|archive-date=10 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091110133810/http://www.jje.info/lostlives/places/montevideomaru.html|url-status=live}} 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 lost on the Montevideo Maru.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SDkxDTwxk0MC|title=Australia's Forgotten Prisoners: Civilians Interned by the Japanese in World War Two|first=Christina|last=Twomey|year=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=22|isbn=978-0521612890}}

It has been 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". Australian Army officer Major Harold S. Williams' 1945 list of the Australian dead was lost,{{how|date=April 2023}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/Death-The-Last-Taboo/|title=Death – The Last Taboo|publisher=Australian Museum|accessdate=2012-12-31|archive-date=17 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117114409/http://australianmuseum.net.au/Death-The-Last-Taboo|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=how-long-do-dead-bodies-remain-inta-2009-06-10|author=Brendan Borrell|title=How Long Do Dead Bodies Remain Intact in the Ocean?|publisher=Scientific American|date=2009-06-10|accessdate=2012-12-31|archive-date=14 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714203104/http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=how-long-do-dead-bodies-remain-inta-2009-06-10|url-status=live}}

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 whom 845 were from Lark Force.{{cite web|title=Montevideo Maru – The worst maritime disaster in Australian history|work=National Archives of Australia|url=http://montevideomaru.naa.gov.au/|accessdate=1 July 2012|archive-date=5 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705083738/http://montevideomaru.naa.gov.au/|url-status=live}} 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 previous number was simply inaccurate.

• List of ships sunk by submarines by death toll
• List of Japanese hell ships

{{Reflist}}

{{wikinews|Expedition locates wreck of World War II-sunk ship Montevideo Maru}}

• [http://www.jje.info/lostlives/exhib/potp/montevideomaru.html People of the Plaque], a tribute to civilians from New Ireland who died in the war
• [http://www.abc.net.au/compass/s2223078.htm A Story of the Salvos, Compass, ABC television, 20 April 2008]
• [http://www.jje.info/lostlives/places/larkforce.html Lark Force], part of the Australian Army garrison on Rabaul
• [http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-01/montevideo-maru-anniversary-memorial/4102848 "Montevideo Maru remembered 70 years on"] – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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{{July 1942 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montevideo Maru}}

Category:1926 ships

Category:2023 archaeological discoveries

Category:World War II merchant ships of Japan

Category:Ships sunk by American submarines

Category:World War II shipwrecks in the South China Sea

Category:Maritime incidents in July 1942

Category:Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Category:Japanese hell ships