WWII harbour attack sub to go on display

A Japanese sub used during a wartime attack on Sydney Harbour will have a rare public showing at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park from Friday.

NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Veterans Affairs Charlie Lynn will lead a ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Imperial Japanese Navy incursion on the harbour.

Remains from one of three midget Japanese submarines that stole into Sydney Harbour on the night of May 31, 1942 will be on display at the Anzac Memorial. They are normally kept from public view.

In the early hours of June 1, a torpedo fired from one of the submarines exploded against a seawall, sinking the depot ship HMAS Kuttabul and killing 21 Allied sailors as well as six Japanese submariners.

Among those present at the commemoration ceremony on Friday will be three Kuttabul crew members, including Harold Reader, who survived the sinking, along with Neville Rice and Reg Turner, who both were ashore at the time of the attack.

A private memorial service for family and descendants of those killed in the attack will follow the ceremony.