Montevideo Maru was a Japanese auxiliary ship that was sunk by the USN in World War II, resulting in the drowning of 1,054 Australians, both prisoners of war and civilians, who were being transported from Rabaul to Hainan, in what is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australia’s history. Prior to the war the ship operated as a passenger and cargo vessel, traveling mainly between Japan and Brazil carrying Japanese emigrants.

Ship history

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 7,267-ton ship was constructed at the Mitsubishi Zosen Kakoki Kaisha shipyard at Nagasaki, and launched in 1926.

At 430 feet (130 metres) in length, and 56 ft (17 m) in the beam, she was powered by two Mitsubishi-Sulzer 6ST60 six-cylinder diesel engines delivering a total of 4,600 horsepower (3,400 kilowatts) and giving her a speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 kilometres per hour; 16.7 miles per hour).

WWII service

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

The SS Montevideo Maru was a Japanese freighter ship that gained notoriety during World War II due to its tragic sinking, which resulted in the deaths of more than a thousand Australian prisoners of war and civilians. The incident remains a poignant reminder of the brutality of war and the devastating impact it can have on innocent lives.

The Battle of Rabaul and the Capture of Australian POWs

The capture of Australian soldiers during the Battle of Rabaul on January 23, 1942, marked a turning point in the Pacific War. Rabaul, located in what is now Papua New Guinea, was the main Japanese naval base in the South Pacific, and its capture allowed Japan to establish a foothold in the region. The Australian garrison in Rabaul, consisting of approximately 1,400 soldiers, was quickly overwhelmed by the Japanese forces, and the surviving soldiers were taken prisoner.

The prisoners were initially held in various camps in Rabaul, where they were subjected to harsh conditions, including inadequate food, clothing, and medical care. The Japanese authorities were aware that the Australian prisoners were a valuable resource, and they planned to use them as forced labor in Japan.

The Transfer of Australian POWs to Japan

On June 22, 1942, the Japanese authorities began transferring the Australian prisoners from Rabaul to the SS Montevideo Maru, a Japanese freighter ship that had been requisitioned for the purpose of transporting POWs to Japan. The ship was overcrowded, with more than 1,100 prisoners and civilians on board, and the conditions were poor.

The voyage was difficult, with the ship encountering rough seas and bad weather. The prisoners were housed in the hold of the ship, which was hot and cramped, and there was little ventilation. The Japanese guards were harsh and unsympathetic, and they were quick to use violence to maintain order.

Sinking

On 22 June 1942, some weeks after the fall of Rabaul to the Japanese, many Australian prisoners were embarked from Rabaul’s port onto Montevideo Maru. She was proceeding without escort to the Chinese island of Hainan, when she was sighted by the American submarine Sturgeon near the northern Philippine coast on 30 June.

Sturgeon pursued, but was unable to fire, as the target was traveling at 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph). It slowed to about 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) at midnight. According to crewman Yoshiaki Yamaji, it was to rendezvous with an escort of two destroyers. Unaware that it was carrying Allied prisoners of war and civilians, Sturgeon fired four torpedoes at Montevideo Maru before dawn on 1 July, causing the vessel to sink in only 11 minutes. According to Yamaji, Australians in the water sang “Auld Lang Syne” to their trapped comrades as the ship sank beneath the waves.

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.

— 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. Among those perished there were 35 sailors from the Norwegian Merchant Ship MV Herstein, Of the ship’s total complement, approximately twenty Japanese crew survived, out of an original 88 guards and crew.

On July 1, 1942, the SS Montevideo Maru was sunk by an American submarine, the USS Sturgeon, off the coast of the Philippines. The submarine was unaware that the ship was carrying prisoners, and it torpedoed the vessel, causing it to sink quickly.

The Japanese guards on board the ship were quick to abandon the prisoners, and many of the POWs were trapped below deck and unable to escape. Others were forced to jump into the sea, where they were exposed to the elements and vulnerable to shark attacks.

The Aftermath of the Sinking

The sinking of the SS Montevideo Maru was not immediately reported by the Japanese, and it was not until September 1945, after the end of the war, that the fate of the prisoners was confirmed. Of the more than 1,100 people on board, only 106 survived. The death toll included approximately 1,054 Australian prisoners of war and 117 civilians.

The sinking of the SS Montevideo Maru remains one of the largest maritime disasters in Australian history. It is a tragic reminder of the human cost of war and the impact it can have on innocent lives. In the aftermath of the incident, the Australian government launched an investigation into the sinking, and the families of the victims were offered financial compensation.

Among the missing prisoners were:

• Harold Page, deputy administrator of New Guinea and brother of Australian prime minister Earle Page.
• Reverend Syd Beazley of the Methodist Mission, the uncle of future Australian Labor Party leader Kim Beazley.
• Tom Vernon Garrett, the grandfather of Midnight Oil lead singer and government minister Peter Garrett.
• 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.

Search and discovery of wreckage

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.

The search team analysing data at sea – SILENTWORLD FOUNDATION

In April 2023, the wreck of the Montevideo Maru was discovered at a depth of over 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the South China Sea, off the northwest coast of Luzon Island. 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.” Silentworld Foundation director John Mullens said in a statement that the site would not be disturbed because it is a war grave.

Memorials

A memorial to those who lost their lives was erected at the Repatriation Hospital, Bell Street, Heidelberg, Melbourne, Victoria (Australia). 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 unveiling of the memorial in February 2004.

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.

Controversies

Cause of deaths

Some have questioned whether some or all of the POWs were aboard the ship and not massacred earlier. Others believe that some of the Australians survived, only to die later. Of the known survivors, the only one to ever be questioned was former merchant seaman Yoshiaki Yamaji. In a 2003 The 7:30 Report interview, he stated that he was told that some of the POWs had been picked up and taken to Kobe.

Veteran Albert Speer, who served in New Guinea, believes that survivors were transported to Sado Island, only to perish days before the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan. Professor Hank Nelson considers it unlikely that any Japanese ship would have stopped to rescue prisoners with a hostile submarine nearby.

The Rabaul garrison has been described as a “sacrificial lamb” by biographer David Day. Lark Force was left without reinforcements, and instructed not to withdraw in accordance with official War Cabinet policy at the time in regards to small garrisons. 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 killed on the Montevideo Maru.

Number of casualties

It has been historically 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, 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.

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 which 845 were from Lark Force.

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 historical number was simply inaccurate.

Sources continue to contradict each other regarding the number of Japanese crew who survived. Some reports indicate 18 survivors, one of whom died soon afterwards. Other sources indicate that 17 Japanese seamen and three guards survived.

Conclusion

The sinking of the SS Montevideo Maru was a tragic event that resulted in the deaths of more than a thousand Australian prisoners of war and civilians. The incident highlights the human cost of war and serves as a reminder of the importance of peace and diplomacy in resolving conflicts. The memory of those who lost their lives on board the SS Montevideo Maru will be forever etched in the annals of history, as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by those who fought for their country.

History
Japan
Name	MV Montevideo Maru
Owner	Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK)
Builder	Mitsubishi Zosen Kakoki Kaisha, Nagasaki
Laid down	9 September 1925
Launched	15 April 1926
Completed	14 August 1926
In service	August 1926
Out of service	1 July 1942
Fate	Sunk, 1 July 1942
General characteristics
Class and type	Santos Maru
Type	refrigerated passenger/cargo ship
Tonnage	7,267 GRT
Length	430 ft (130 m)
Beam	56 ft (17 m)
Draught	36 ft (11 m)
Propulsion	2 × 2,300 hp (1,715 kW) Mitsubishi-Sulzer 6ST60 diesel engines 2 screws
Speed	14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)

References