The service welcomed hundreds of family members of victims and survivors on board HMAS Manoora. The family of Macksville doctor Bernie Hindmarsh were among them.

Dr Hindmarsh was one of 268 people to die when the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on May 14, 1943. There were 64 survivors.

The wreckage of the Centaur was discovered late last year after a search by the same team that had discovered the resting place of HMAS Sydney.

A plaque has been mounted on the deck of the AHS Centaur, which includes the names of the dead, the survivors, and messages from family members, all on a CD.

The ship will now be protected under the historic shipwrecks act, so it is not disturbed.

Dr Hindmarsh’s children, Ian, Jan Thomas and Malene O’Brien all attended the on-board service to remember the tragedy.

Earlier in the year, images of the outside of the ship had been broadcast, and they were able to see detail of the crosses, still red in colour, its stripe of green and even the ship’s bell.

On the Manoora, some families scattered ashes into the water, while others threw wreaths and some reflected quietly.

Ian said the event was like a big, inclusive family gathering, with all the members drawn together by a shared experience and loss.

Marlene, who now lives in Gulgong, said the Nambucca Valley would always be the place that reminded her most of her father – the church and school they attended and the hospital building in which her father worked.

A small park in Wallace Street has been named after Dr Hindmarsh, and his children said that area was very significant to his life, and their childhood.

Jan has spent years as part of the AHS Centaur Association, which aims to provide support to the families of those who died. She said the finding of the Centaur was a bonus, but the work of the association would continue.