Explore the deepwater wrecks of HMAS Sydney (II) and HSK Kormoran (1941)

Presenters: Dr Ross Anderson, Curator, WA Museum Department of Maritime Heritage, Assoc. Prof. Andrew Woods, Manager, Curtin University HIVE (Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch

On 19 November 1941 a naval battle off Western Australia's coast between Australia's light cruiser HMAS Sydney (II), and the disguised German raider HSK Kormoran led to the loss of both ships, and HMAS Sydney's entire crew of 645 men. Both wrecks were discovered in 2008 in around 2500m depth by the Finding Sydney Foundation and David Mearns of Blue Water Recoveries. In 2015 the WA Museum and Curtin University, with support from DOF Subsea revisited the shipwrecks to conduct high-resolution digital photography and scientific surveys of the wrecks' deep-sea environment, in the process learning more about the battle, the ships and their crews. This presentation will explore the history of Sydney and Kormoran, and examine how we can visualise the wreck sites. 

Dr Ross Anderson is a maritime historian, archaeologist and Curator with the WA Museum's Department of Maritime Heritage. He was part of the 'Two Ships' project team that visited the HMAS Sydney (II) and HSK Kormoran (1941) shipwreck sites in 2015, to document new findings from the expedition. Ross has also investigated two 19th century sailing shipwrecks lying between 3,700 and 3,900 metres depth in the Southern Indian Ocean, discovered during the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. He is excited about the possibilities for learning more from these and future deepwater shipwreck discoveries, as technological development and exploration of the deep sea continues.

Associate Professor Andrew Woods is manager of the HIVE visualisation facility at Curtin University. He has a broad background in imaging and visualisation. He was the technology lead on the Sydney-Kormoran Project which surveyed the wrecks of HMAS Sydney (II) and HSK Kormoran in 2015, and imaging lead for the survey of the wreck of Australia’s first submarine HMAS AE1 in 2018. In 2017 he was recognised as one of Australia's Most Innovative Engineers by Engineers Australia.