A board with articles about those on board the Montevideo Maru which sank in 1942. Photo: Silentworld Foundation / Karen Eck
New Zealanders may have been on board the just-rediscovered sunken World War II ship Montevideo Maru when it sank full of Australian prisoners, a historian says.
The Japanese transport ship sank off the coast of the Philippines on 1 July 1942 while carrying civilians captured from Rabaul in Papua New Guinea and almost 1000 Australian prisoners of war.
The shipwreck was discovered by a specialist search team, more than 4000m deep in the South China Sea.
Military historian Peter Cooke said it was likely there were a few New Zealanders on board the ship, which was the centre of the worst maritime disaster in Australian history.
Records showed two New Zealand men serving with the Australian military forces could have been on board.
Massey University war historian Professor Glyn Harper said the ship was carrying civilians from 14 countries who were captured together with the Australian troops, at Rabaul. He agreed the prisoners may have included New Zealanders.
"Most of these people had been captured when the island of Rabaul was captured and these were people who'd stayed behind to defend it or were working at Rabaul, and ... my bet is that there were a couple of New Zealanders on board."
The discovery of the ship's final resting place would be especially important for those with connections to the prisoners who died in the wreck, Harper said.
"We're talking about almost 1000 Australians who perished in this one incident during the Second World War. It is ... an important event certainly for Australia and for the surviving family members."
