The Search for HMAS Sydney An Australian Story

In November 1941, the HMAS Sydney, the pride of Australia’s wartime fleet, and its crew of 645 disappeared without a trace off the Western Australian coast. All that was known was Sydney had come under fire from the German raider HSK Kormoran, which also sank. After numerous unsuccessful searches from the mid-1970s onwards, the Finding Sydney Foundation was set up and, in March 2008, one of Australia’s greatest maritime mysteries was solved when both wrecks were finally discovered. The Search for HMAS Sydney pieces together the incredible story of Sydney, its crew, and the families left behind. It details the innovative and powerful research procedures implemented by the Finding Sydney Foundation to locate the wrecks of Sydney and Kormoran, their discovery, and the detailed forensic analyses and commemorations that followed.

Ted Graham was the chairman of the HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his role in the successful search for the HMAS Sydney. Bob King is a chartered engineer and a practicing consultant to the Australian offshore oil and gas industry where he has more than 40 years of experience. He received the Medal in the Order of Australia for services to the offshore oil industry in reference to the North West Shelf development. Bob Trotter is a former director of the Finding Sydney Foundation and for his work in finding Sydney, he was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia in 2009. He served the Australian Navy for 35 years. Kim Kirsner is a professor at the University of Western Australia. She initiated the Oceanography Workshop, which helped to determine the general location of several missing wrecks, including the HMAS Sydney.