WHEN shipwreck hunter David Mearns came across the HMAS Sydney on the bottom of the Indian Ocean in March 2008 he and his team jumped around like children. "It was absolute euphoria," Mr Mearns said at the time. Just under two years later the British engineer was equally ecstatic when he solved another World War II mystery by discovering the wreck of the hospital ship Centaur off southern Queensland.

But his joy paled in comparison to that of hundreds of Australian families whose lives had been haunted by their losses for decades and could now find some solace. Today, Mr Mearns is being awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. The director of British-based Blue Water Recoveries has discovered more than 50 wrecks during his career. But he made history following the search and eventual discovery of the Sydney and the Centaur.

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