The Australian Blue Ensign was hoisted in HMA Ships PARRAMATTA and YARRA, (torpedo boat destroyers), at Port Phillip, VIC to accompany the joint use of the Royal Navy’s White Ensign by Royal Australian Navy ships. The RN White Ensign replaced Australia’s national flag flown since 1901 as the Naval Ensign. With this joint flying of the White Ensign, Australia, the independent self-governing Dominion, within the British Empire, allowed itself to become more closely aligned to British Admiralty. The Admiralty, slow to accept the independence of it’s former colonies, ensured that, following Australia’s RADM Creswell, influence would be maintained by only by RN Admirals being appointed as Australia’s First Naval Member on the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (ACNB). This was not a legal requirement of the Australian Constitution but had been diplomatically managed. This “agreed” position lasted until RADM Sir John Collins KBE RAN was appointed First Naval Member of ACNB in 1947. Thereafter only Australian Admirals served as First Naval Member on the ACNB.