SYDNEY (AP) " One of Australia's oldest naval mysteries has been solved after the discovery of the wreck of the country's first submarine more than 103 years after its disappearance in World War I.

The AE1 vanished near New Guinea on Sept. 1914, with 35 crew aboard from Australia, New Zealand and Britain. It was the first Allied submarine loss of the war, and the first wartime loss for the Royal Australian Navy.

After 12 fruitless hunts, Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said Thursday the sub was located more than 300 meters (984 feet) below the surface in a search starting only last week using a Dutch-owned survey vessel.

While the reasons for the submarine's sinking remain unclear, Payne says the Australian government is now trying to contact descendants of those killed.