The Western Australian Museum is marking the 80th anniversary of the World War II sinking of HMAS Sydney (II) and HSK Kormoran with a new exhibition.
Minister for Culture and the Arts and Heritage, David Templeman said Deep Light: Illuminating the Wrecks of Sydney and Kormoran would be displayed at the Museum of Geraldton and WA Museum Boola Bardip.
Mr Templeman said the poignant exhibition featured remarkable underwater images of the wrecks and excerpts of interviews with families of those who were lost.
He said HMAS Sydney (II) (pictured) and the German raider, HSK Kormoran both sank after a short, fierce battle on 19 November 1941, claiming the lives of 81 men from Kormoran and all 645 men from Sydney, making it Australia’s worst naval disaster.
Mr Templeman said that, for more than 66 years, the wrecks of the two ships sat silently on the ocean floor, their location a mystery until they were located in 2008, 200 kilometres west of Shark Bay at a depth of 2,500 metres.
“In 2015 the Western Australian Museum and Curtin University, with assistance from others, returned to the wrecks and captured stunning underwater images that revealed much about the fate of the ships,” he said.
Deep Light is on display at the Museum of Geraldton from 19 November until 13 February 2022 and an exhibit, including a moving 3D film of the wrecks, is also permanently on display at the museum.
The WA Museum Boola Bardip is displaying the same exhibition until 2 February 2022 but also includes a 3D short film, Fire on the Water, which uses the images to portray the encounter and final events of the World War II battle off Shark Bay.
Entry to both exhibitions is free.
