The first photographs of the wreck of the HMAS Sydney were released yesterday. It shows the ship sitting upright. I saw a picture of gun turret B.
They show all the lifeboats missing, suggesting that some of the crew might have escaped. There is now the thought that perhaps half the crew got off as the ship sank slowly, and not fast as previously thought. Data will be gathered from the site and a new search made for those who might have gotten off the ill-fated ship.
DOROTHY COOPER and GORDON WHITE
Now here's a really sad story. Dorothy Cooper, 90, had just been married to her new husband, Leading Stoker Alfred Alfred, for one day, when she saw him sail off, never to be seen again. "I feel great peace and relief knowing the ship is mostly intact and he and his comrades are probably all still together on board."
Gordon White, 87, would have been aboard the Sydney with his shipmates, except a bout with tonsillitis kept him ashore that fateful voyage.
HORRIBLE DAMGE
The HMAS Sydney sits upright, but the destruction of the German guns is easily seen. Both funnels and masts are gone. Shell holes are in all the gun turrets. The bridge is completely gone as well.
The pictures are posted at the Finding Sydney Foundation website.
Compiled from Ararat Advertiser and Herald Sun.
Fascinating and Still Unfolding Story. --Cooter
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