Exhibition and education unit begin commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in the Pacific
2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in the Pacific. The Australian National Maritime Museum will be commemorating the anniversary with a range of activities over the coming months.
To commence activities the Museum has opened a new exhibition focusing on the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942. The exhibition is paired with an education unit for senior students.
Stirling Smith, the Museum’s Curator of Navy, said, ‘The 1942 strike on Sydney harbour shocked the nation. Although there had been strikes on Darwin earlier that year – the attack so far south really struck home. This exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in the Pacific reminds new generations of this time when the nation was perhaps the most vulnerable it had ever been. Over the following months the museum will be looking at this period through a range of activities.’
The Secret Strike: War on Our Shores exhibition tells the story of the three Japanese midget submarines that attacked Sydney Harbour in May 1942. The exhibition includes historic images of the aftermath of the attack and firsthand accounts of the impact the raid had on ordinary people’s lives. The exhibition also features original objects such as the stern section of the midget submarine M22 and the voice pipe from the HMAS Kuttabul, kindly on loan from the Royal Australian Navy.
On the evening of 31 May, and the early morning of 1 June 1942, three Type A Kō-hyōteki midget submarines penetrated Sydney Harbour’s defences to attack allied shipping. During the attack HMAS Kuttabul, a former Sydney ferry converted into a depot ship, was sunk killing 19 Australians and two British sailors. Two of the midget submarines, M27 and M22 were sunk in the harbour and recovered almost immediately. On 3 June the 21 sailors from HMAS Kuttabul and four crew from the Japanese midget submarines were buried in Sydney with full military honours. In 1943, the remains of the Japanese crew were exhumed, cremated and returned to Japan via diplomatic exchange.
The midget submarine, M24, that fired the torpedo that sank the HMAS Kuttabul was the only one to escape the Harbour in 1942. Its final fate remained a mystery until 2006, when it was found virtually intact in the waters off Bungan Head on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with the remains of its two crew entombed inside. The exhibition includes a 3D interactive of the M24 which will allow visitors to explore the wreck of this significant maritime heritage site.
The exhibition in located in the foyer of the museum’s Maritime Heritage Centre in Wharf 7 in Pyrmont and is open to the public during office hours Monday to Friday.
The education unit has been designed for Year 10 history students. As part of the compulsory core depth study about Australia at War (WWII) that is required, students can look at this seminal WWII event and analyse its effect on the nation at the time and since.
For more information on the education unit please go to sea.museum/secret-strike-resource .
To mark the 80th anniversary, the Museum is planning a range of talks and events that will be announced over the coming months.
ENDS
For information about the exhibition, please visit sea.museum/secret-strike
For images Secret Strike Images
For further information, to attend or interviews please contact:
Alex Gonzalez m: 0401 545 778 e: alex.gonzalez@sea.museum