Our first casuality

Great news about a lecture at the Melbourne Museum – “Beneath the waves at Gallipoli”

While the battlefields of Gallipoli are etched in the Australian psyche, the hidden underwater relics of the war are generally overlooked.

Tim Smith, a leading maritime archaeology practitioner and Executive Director of Heritage Victoria, will talk about his work mapping underwater cultural heritage sites associated with key World War One Australian actions, including:

• the AE2 submarine sunk in the Dardanelles Strait, Turkey (1915), and the forthcoming June expedition

• the centenary search for the AE1 submarine sunk off Papua New Guinea (1914)

• battlefield landscape surveys at ANZAC Cove and Suvla Bay

• recent survey work at the wreck of the World War One battle cruiser HMAS Australia I off Sydney

• J-Class submarines in Melbourne and more.

Details: 2014 Heritage Address with Tim Smith: Beneath the Waves at Gallipoli

When: Monday 14th April 2014

Location: Museum Theatre, Melbourne Museum, Carlton Gardens

Start: 6 pm

Bookings: discoverylectures@museum.vic.gov.au by 11th April

Being fascinated with the fact that AE1 was our first submarine, but its loss before the Gallipoli campaign has meant it has been largely glossed over in favour of the land battles and the loss of the AE2. The AE2 was scuttled in the Dardanelles on 30th April 1915, as part of the Gallipoli campaign.

His Majesty’s Australian Submarine AE1 was launched in the yard of Vickers Ltd at Barrow-in-Furness England on 22nd May 1913. She was commissioned at Portsmouth on 28th February 1914 under the command of Lieutenant Commander T F Besant, RN. She was the first of two E Class submarines built for the fledgling Royal Australian Navy.

HMAS AE1 - Royal Australian Navy's first submarine at Portsmouth in 1914

Both submarines sailed from England and reached Sydney on 24th May 1914. They were, manned by 3 Royal Navy officers and a mixed crew of 32 sailors from the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy.

At the outbreak of World War 1 (4th August 1914), AE1 joined the naval forces assigned to the capture and occupation of the German Pacific colonies. With AE2, she took part in the surrender of Rabaul on 13th September 1914.

The destroyer HMAS Parramatta and AE1 were patrolling in the Bismarck Sea east of the Duke of York Islands on the 14th. The two vessels met, but the weather was hazy and visibility was down to about 5 miles when the Parramatta lost sight of the submarine. Despite a search by 5 Navy ships no trace was ever found. The loss of the AE1 was the first major tragedy for the Royal Australian Navy. (from http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-ae1)

Last known image of AE1, 9 Sep 1914 with Yarra & Australia in the background