Hunt For Wartime Wreck
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday March 5, 1996
A geophysical exploration company claims it can find the wreck of HMAS Sydney - all it needs is time and money.
World Geoscience Corporation says it has the aerial electronic technology necessary and could find the ship in as little as 10 weeks at a cost of $600,000.
The Perth-based company has spent $15,000 searching a 20 square kilometre area between Northampton and Kalbarri, based on a theory about where the Sydney went down.
Officially, the 6,830-tonne, 170-metre cruiser sank with the loss of all 645 hands off Carnarvon after an encounter with the German raider Kormoran on November 19, 1941.
Controversy has raged since the sinking, with allegations of war crimes, an official cover-up and the involvement of a Japanese submarine.
The alternative location theory arose after residents from the Northampton area, north of Geraldton, reported hearing gunfire and seeing flashes out to sea at the time Sydney was lost.
The HMAS Sydney Foundation Trust is still gathering information about the sinking and says it is not ready to mount a search.
© 1996 Sydney Morning Herald