A navy ship has reported making 'contact of interest' in the search for the WWI Australian submarine AE1.
Seaman on the HMAS Yarra investigate a new clue found underwater off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Source: Supplied
IT'S been described as Australia's greatest unsolved mystery.
Nearly 100 years ago to the day, a navy submarine called the AE1 was sitting off the coast of Papua New Guinea.
Sometime after 3:30pm it vanished with 35 people on board, never to be seen again.
"There's as many theories as there are days in the week," said Hugh Scarlett, an underwater cinematographer whose great uncle was third officer on the submarine.
"It could have been engine failure, it could have been mechanical failure inside the submarine. It could have hit a reef, of which there are plenty up there. As soon as they're submerged they were flying blind. The charts were not necessarily accurate. You were pretty much running on a hope and a prayer," he said.
The navy's first two submarines AE2 and AE1 docked at Garden Island in Sydney in May 1914. Photo Courtesy Australian War Memorial Source: Supplied
Now, nearly 100 years to the day since the submarine, which was one of two Australian submarines involved in the war effort, disappeared a new clue has been found which could shed light on what happened on that afternoon.
This week, the Australian Defence Force announced they are investigating a "contact of interest" found during a search by another ship, the HMAS Yarra in the islands off Papua New Guinea.
A spokeswoman for the ADF confirmed while a number of objects found were natural, one
remains unidentified and will require further investigation, which may take several weeks.
The president of AE1 Incorporated — a group concerned with finding the submarine and laying a memorial for its descendants — Dr Michael White QC, said the search "seems to have identified a rock formation with an outline similar to that of AE1" that needs more investigation.
The news has left family members of the crew on tenterhooks, desperate for any information that could bring them closer to the truth, but wary of getting their hopes up.
The submarine AE1 had a crew of 35 people on board when she disappeared. Source: News Corp Australia
Mr Scarlett said finding it would "close the chapter" on a great mystery few Australians know much about.
"It would bring closure to a lot of relatives and the submariner community itself. It would be a great thing to also try and establish what actually happened."
"AE1 for many years was pretty much a forgotten subject by a lot of Australians. It hasn't been taught in history."
"You talk to people know and they are hearing more about it but five or ten years ago the majority of the public wouldn't have even known about AE1 or AE2 if you asked them."
James Fettes from a Balmain family was aboard the AE1. Source: Supplied
Peter Ryan, whose wife Vera is Chair of the AE1 Descendant Families Association and lost her uncle in the tragedy, said that like all mysteries everyone wants certainty over what happened.
"You've only got to look at what happened when that first Malaysian Airlines plane vanished. The very fact a plane could vanish in 2014 was something that the world couldn't quite grasp ... that a plane could just disappear," he said.
"You saw the distress of the relatives. I hate to use that buzzword 'closure' but we all like to have some tangible contact with our forebears of knowing what happened. It's the fact that it was a mystery, no one knew."
Vera Ryan pictured with grandson Connaugh Dane (6) at her home in Lilyfield. With photo of Jack Messenger age 25 of Ballarat from WWI submarine AE1 Source: News Corp Australia
Dr White said finding the lost submarine is "imperative" to families and if the current effort is not successful the group will ask the government for funding to charter a ship with deep water search equipment and a team to find it.
"The AE1 team seek the support of the Australian nation to get behind us to fund the first ship lost by the new Australian Navy and when found to mark the site of this maritime war grave. The AE1 Descendant Families are entitled to an identified final resting place for the 35 men lost in her."
A centenary service for the AE1 will be held on Garden Island chapel in Sydney on Sunday at 9am.
A wreath has been laid for the missing submarine in Papua New Guinea this week. Source: News Corp Australia
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