Welcome to the Centaur Memorial Fund for Nurses
Our fund was established in 1948 to memorialise the nurses and medical personnel who lost their lives when the Australian Hospital Ship (AHS) Centaur was sunk by a Japanese submarine, off the coast of South East Queensland in 1943.
Only one nurse survived this tragedy, Sister Ellen Savage, who was subsequently awarded the George Medal for her bravery and courage.
Support Nurses
We provide scholarship funding and recognition to nurses and nursing.
Our Mission
Empower Education
To honour the memory of those who died in the sinking of the 2/3 AHS Centaur on 14 May 1943 by advancing the professions of nursing and midwifery in Queensland.
We empower nursing through scholarships and recognition to uplift the next generation of nurses.
AHS Centaur 1943
PROTECTED BY THE GENEVA CONVENTION
AHS Centaur was registered with the Red Cross in Switzerland. Her allies and enemies were notified of her existence and she was under the protection of the Geneva Convention. She was steaming north east of Stradbroke Island, Queensland, to give aid to injured service personnel in New Guinea and on her second mission.
SUNK BY A JAPANESE SUBMARINE IN THREE MINUTES
AHS Centaur was torpedoed amidships at 4am on 14th May 1943. She sank in three minutes with no time to transmit a distress signal. 268 died including 11 of the 12 nurses on board. 36 hours later the 64 survivors were found and rescued by the US destroyer USS Mugford.
WRECK FOUND IN 2009
Her wreck was found by shipwreck hunter David Mearns and his team on the 20th December, 2009. She was less than one nautical mile from where her navigator, Gordon Rippon, judged her coordinates at the time of the sinking.
AHS Centaur Survivors Tell Their Stories
MOVIE NEWSREELS IN WWII
In 1943 visual news stories were presented as movie newsreels. This was the only way to visually update the population about what was happening
during WWII. News stories were otherwise disseminated by radio. A MovieTone newsreel was made after news of the Centaur tragedy was known,
when survivors were brought into Brisbane General Hospital.
