Century-old maritime mystery solved as historic wreck discovered

  • 22/12/2017

Australia's oldest maritime mystery has been solved, with the discovery of the wreck of the country's first submarine.

The wreck of HMS-AE1 has been discovered 300 metres underwater, off the coast of Papa New Guinea, and is reportedly damaged, but largely intact.  

New Zealander John Reardon was one of 35 crew members killed, when the sub disappeared during World War I.

Vice Admiral Tim Barrett of the Australian Navy told Channel 7 that finding the submarine was "pure joy" and that the submarine had been sought for more than a century.

There have been 12 unsuccessful attempts to find the submarine previously, until it was found by the same vessel used to search for the wreck of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

The submarine will reportedly not be moved and instead, will remain on the seabed, with Vice Admiral Barrett saying that for the 35 sailors "are entombed on that submarine, it is a war grave".

Newshub.