The sinking of HMAS Sydney, The Australian, 30 May, 2008

30 MAY 2008:
John Stapleton

FOR 66 years conspiracy theories have surrounded the sinking of the HMAS Sydney II and the death of all 645 servicemen on board during the Second World War.

Now relatives and historians might just get the answers they have sought for so long.
A multi-million dollar inquiry into the loss of the ship, headed by Terrence Cole, best known for running the inquiry into the Australian Wheat Board's payment of bribes to the Iraqi regime, began in Sydney yesterday.

Cole said the need for the investigation had been questioned. There had already been a parliamentary inquiry and numerous books. But the discovery of the wrecks of the HMAS Sydney and the German raider HSK Kormoran off the West Australian coast in March meant empirical evidence and expert assessment could now be brought to bear.

``One third of all sailors lost by Australia in World War II were lost in this single sinking,'' he said. ``Yet the circumstances of the military engagement, and the reasons for the tragic loss of life suffered, remain uncertain. No country which is respectful of its military personnel or military traditions or of its national history can allow such a loss to remain unexplained.''

Cole will interview elderly Kormoran suvivors in Germany next month. Thousands of photographs and documents will be examined.Archives in Australia, the UK and Germany are also to be searched.

Some believe the ship was in fact sunk by a Japanese submarine and the men machine gunned in a war time atrocity which preceded Pearl Harbour and would require the history of World War II to be rewritten. Others claim they can prove that the men were buried in mass graves on the WA coast by the military.

Judith Bennett, 72, who was only six-years-old when her father George died, said the family had never known any peace.
``They have found the ship, now we want the answers,'' she said. ``It has been a long wait. We owe it to our mom. She never gave up hope of him coming home. She said, just before she died, I can't wait any longer, I am going to meet him. One day you will find the truth.''

John Samuels, author of Somewhere Below: The Sydney Scandal Exposed, said the cost of the inquiry was irrelevant. Stupidity and arrogance had characterised government secrecy and official cover-up. ``It is going to disturb the relatives greatly that this whole mess has been kept under wraps for so long,'' he said.


ORIGINAL COPY:

John Stapleton

THE opening in Sydney yesterday of the multi-million dollar inquiry into the fate of the 645 men who died on the HMAS Sydney II during the Second World War lasted barely half an hour. But it promised to be the beginning of an enormously complex and expensive inquiry into Australia's worst maritime disaster, 66 years after the ship sank without single survivor.

President of the Commission of Inquiry Terrence Cole, best known for running the inquiry into the Australian Wheat Board's payment of bribes to the Iraqi regime, said the need for the inquiry had been questioned. There had already been a parliamentary inquiry and numerous books on the incident.

But the discovery of the wrecks of the HMAS Sydney and the German raider HSK Kormoran off the West Australian coast in March meant empirical evidence and expert assessment could now be brought to bear. He said more servicement were lost in the sinking than in the Korean or Vietnam wars.

``One third of all sailors lost by Australia in World War II were lost in this single sinking,'' he said. ``Yet the circumstances of the military engagement, and the reasons for the tragic loss of life suffered, remain uncertain. No country which is respectful of its military personnel or military traditions or of its national history can allow such a loss to remain unexplained when circumstances have occurred which may allow, for the first time, an explanation of the circumstances of their deaths.''

Cole will interview Kormoran suvivors in Germany next month. The inquiry team will also travel around Australia holding public hearings. Thousands of photographs and documents will be examined. Archives in Australia, the UK and Germany will also be searched. Material will be placed on the defence department website as it is uncovered.

To this day mystery and conspiracy theories surround the sinking of the HMAS Sydney. While more than 300 men off the Kormoran survived, there was not a single survivor off the Sydney II. The fate of the 645 men has obsessed historians and relatives for the past 66 years. Some believe the ship was in fact sunk by a Japanese submarine and the men machine gunned in a shocking war time atrocity which preceded Pearl Harbour and would require the history of World War II to be rewritten.

Others claim they can prove that the many of the men off the Sydney were buried in mass graves on the WA coast by the military and the soldiers involved were sworn to secrecy.

Some nervous relatives believe Mr Cole should suspend the Crimes Act in relation to the Sydney II so that the secrets can be revealed without fear of punishment.

President Cole said relatives were entitled to assume their country would do all it could to establish the circumstances in which the deaths occurred.

``There has been much speculation and conjecture,'' he said. ``It is my objective to provide an independent, reasoned, fact based account.''

Judith Bennett, 72, who was only six years old when her father George died aboard the HMAS Sydney, said the family had never known any peace as a result. She said her mother Eva never remarried and had always waited for her husband to return.

``They have found the ship, now we want the answers,'' she said. ``It has been a long wait. We owe it to our mom. She never gave up hope of him coming home. She said, just before she died, I can't wait any longer, I am going to meet him. One day you will find the truth. What hurt the most was that after the war ended, there was never any inquiry.''

John Samuels, author of Somewhere Below: The Sydney Scandal Exposed, said the cost of the inquiry was irrelevant. Stupidity and arrogance had characterised the government secrecy and official cover-up of what happened. ``It is going to disturb the relatives greatly that this whole mess has been kept under wraps for so long,'' he said.

The Defence Department could not answer questions on the cost or number of people involved in th inquiry.