Lew Lind, BEM, the man who was major force in creating the NHSA, and its first president, tells the story of one of the Society’s most challenging undertakings -the salvage of HMAS Parramatta’s bow section from the grounded shipwreck on the Hawkesbury River. Parramatta was a River Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer design and had a successful military service during World War One, participating in the 1914 naval engagements in German New Guinea, successful tours in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas, and touring the Gallipoli battlefields at war’s end.
The wreck site is now unique in NSW for being located in three distinct places. In 1972, the Naval Historical Society of Australia began a project to recover the bow and stern for proposed memorials to commemorate the history and significance of the vessel and its later namesakes (Parramatta (II) and Parramatta (II), and Australian naval history generally. The remaining hull rests onsite subject to the tides and the mangroves.
Recorded onboard HMAS Sydney on 7th September 1973.
Duration is 14 minutes
Note that photos and diagrams referred to in this address are not included in this audio-only podcast.
