Deep Light for Education Groups

The World War Two encounter between HMAS Sydney (II) and the disguised German raider HSK Kormoran off the Western Australian coast stands as Australia’s worst naval disaster. 81 men from Kormoran were killed and 318 survived. All 645 men on Sydney were lost.

For more than 66 years, the location of the two ships remained a mystery. Then, in 2008, the Finding Sydney Foundation and shipwreck expert David Mearns found the wrecks off Shark Bay.

In 2015, the WA Museum and Curtin University, with vital assistance from DOF Subsea, the Commonwealth Government and other supporters, returned to the wreck sites. Using remotely controlled equipment, the team captured stunning underwater images that revealed the fate of the ships on the seabed, over two kilometres beneath the waves.

In this poignant exhibition, remarkable images allow us to witness this tragic moment in World War Two history, preserved in a remote world of solemn loss, wondrous creatures and surprising colour.

Skills development

Deep Light: Illuminating the Wrecks of Sydney and Kormoran may be of particular interest to Year 10 History students and Depth Study 1: Investigating World War II (1939-1945).

Year 10 History Curriculum

• Content description: The impact of World War II, with a particular emphasis on the Australian home front, including the changing roles of women and use of wartime government controls (conscription, manpower controls, rationing and censorship) (ACDSEH109)
  • Elaboration: investigating the impact of World War II at a local and national level (for example, significant events such as the bombing of Darwin; the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney and the sinking of ships off the Australian coast; the ‘Battle of Brisbane’; the Cowra breakout and the Brisbane Line)

The exhibition themes and content lend themselves to other learning areas and year levels.

Learning resource

The Learning Resource for Deep Light: Illuminating the Wrecks of Sydney and Kormoran was developed for use by Year 10 History students while studying Depth Study 1: Investigating World War II (1939-1945). The activities can be used and adapted by teachers for other year levels.

The Learning Resource can be used in two ways:

1. to support a visit to the Deep Light exhibition with the activities being used pre- and post- visit
2. by incorporating the battle between Sydney and Kormoran into your existing program and utilising the activities in the resource

The Learning Resource contains the following activity themes:

• Whose History?
  
  Students are provided with information about the battle and a timeline of events and are encouraged to predict what was happening on the bridge of Sydney as they approached Kormoran.
• Censorship During Wartime
  
  Students investigate the role the Government and mass media played in the aftermath of the battle between Sydney and Kormoran.
• Examining the Images
  
  Students use images from the 2015 expedition to the wreck sites as source material to investigate the battle further and any further evidence that it provides.
• Commemoration
  
  Students look at how we commemorate the crew of Sydney in the past and in the present.
• In gallery reflections
  
  This activity takes place inside the Deep Light exhibition and is designed to see how the exhibition impacts their understanding of the battle.

The Learning Resource is presented in a higher resolution to allow students to enlarge pages on their screens that have images. Online image galleries are located at HMAS Sydney (II) Photo Galleries & Videos.