The tragic story of Australian Hospital Ship Centaur, sunk on 14 May 1943, inspired a series of charcoal drawings by celebrated artist Dean Bowen. The beautiful, thought-provoking work underscores the horror of the violation while commemorating the 268 innocent souls lost, and the 64 brave individuals who survived.
Take a virtual tour of the exhibition
Portrait of NX76584 Nursing Sister Ellen Savage
Only surviving woman of the sinking of the Hospital Ship Centaur, taken some months after the incident (AWM 044427)
Lae, New Guinea. A native adjusts the Victory War Loan poster for display on the coconut palm tree trunk.
The poster, 'Save for the brave. Let us avenge the nurses' depicts the hospital ship Centaur which was sunk 14 May 1943 (AWM 017538)
Work, save, fight and so avenge the nurses!
Depicts the Hospital ship, 'Centaur' being attacked by the Japanese off the coast of Queensland, during the Second World War (AWM ARTV09088)
Dean Bowen Sinking of the Centaur
Dean Bowen, Sinking of the Centaur, 2013
Dean Bowen Nurse Savage
Dean Bowen, Nurse Savage Jumps into the Sea, 2020
Dean Bowen Stalking the Centaur
Dean Bowen, Stalking the Centaur, 2020
Watch the animation
The exhibition features a specially commissioned animation of Dean Bowen’s Centaur series of charcoal drawings by Japanese audio-visual artist, Ayumi Sasaki.
The animation is a wonderful synergy of several creative minds, from two nations, once enemies now friends, which bring to life Dean’s beautiful, unsettling but ultimately hopeful vision.
Underwater footage of Centaur
View underwater footage of the discovered Centaur wreckage site.
AHS Centaur interviews
Listen to historical interviews featuring survivors of the sinking of the hospital ship Centaur recounting their memories of the fateful night.
Read more about the exhibition
Award-winning artist and sculptor Dean Bowen was deeply touched when he heard the story of 2/3 AHS Centaur and created a series of beautiful and unsettling charcoal drawings.
Meet the Curators: Imagining Centaur
Join the exhibition’s curators, Dr Madonna Grehan and Neil Sharkey, in conversation as they discuss the historical significance of Centaur’s sinking.
In the news
'I went right down': exhibition evokes story of horror and survival
Andrew Stephens, The Age, 7 August 2020
The pathos of Nurse Savage
Rhonda Dredge, Southbank News, 5 August 2020
Imagining Centaur
Dr Madonna Grehan, The Hive (Magazine of the Australian College of Nursing), No 31, Summer 2020
This exhibition is supported by the Victorian Government and the Victorian Veterans Council.
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