HMAS CURLEW, the last of the RAN’s Ton class minesweepers, was decommissioned at HMAS WATERHEN, Sydney after 28 years of service and 38 years to the day after her keel had been laid. She had steamed more than 400,000 nautical miles in 40,000 hours underway. Curlew remained in the Reserve Fleet until she was sold on 17 June 1991