Stanhope - Montevideo Maru Mural
The large mural painted by Tim Bowtell, pays tribute to all those who perished in Australia's largest maritime disaster, including three men from Stanhope. The mural tells the story of the Montevideo Maru, a prisoner-of-war ship that was accidentally sunk by the Allies in 1942. The full story about what happened did not emerge until after the war.
This mural honours those who made the brave and patriotic decision in 1940 to voluntarily enlist, serving in the 2/22 Battalion of the Australian Army, known as Lark Force.
On 1 July 1942, 853 Australian POW and 200 civilian POW were lost when Japanese merchant ship was torpedoed and sunk by American Submarine, the USS Sturgeon. All perished, including three servicemen who enlisted from Stanhope. This tragedy remains the largest maritime disaster in Australian history.
Located opposite the Stanhope Memorial Park.
Background Information
On 1st July, 1942 the Montevideo Maru, carrying 1053 prisoners of the Japanese forces, most of them Australian, was sunk by an Allied submarine, USS Sturgeon. The ship bore no special markings to indicate it carried Prisoners of War and it appeared be a legitimate target.
The prisoners had been captured in January 1942 by Japanese forces in Rabaul on New Britain, now known as Papua New Guinea, they were being transferred to Hainan Island, off Southern China, to be used as forced labour.
The Montevideo Maru was torpedoed off Luzon in the Philippines in the South China Sea, by the USS Sturgeon, unaware that it was carrying allied prisoners. All the prisoners on board were lost. The Australian lives lost equalled twice the total number of Australian Soldiers killed during the Vietnam War.
The deaths on the Montevideo Maru were not fully revealed in Australia until after the end of the war when evidence was found in Japan.
During the war the Red Cross made several enquiries concerning those who had been captured on New Britain and received no answer. The Japanese Foreign Office sought information and the Swiss legation made at least 7 unsuccessful attempts to obtain information. No response was forthcoming.
Pieces of information had come from wartime sources and captured Japanese personnel. After hostilities ended Japanese and surviving civilians in Rabaul pieced together information. An Australian officer, searching through records in Tokyo, found a list of 1056 names. The names had been translated from English into Japanese script and then back again creating considerable difficulties. The translated roll reached Canberra in late October 1945. The families and friends of Lark Force and the civilians on the ship spent three and a half years wondering about their fate. They were notified officially after the war ended.
Photo Credit: Tim Bowtell
Location
Monash Street, Stanhope 3623 Map
Web Links
→ Remembering the Montevideo Maru (RSL Victoria)
