Information on naval rum issues to the sailors of naval forces in Australia can be confusing due to historical changes in the naval forces responsible for the defence of Australia from the colonial period until formation of the Royal Australian Navy in 1911. The following is intended to provide some clarity and a historical context to the age-old link between Commonwealth navies and the consumption of alcohol in ships.
The Australian Colonial Navies which operated under Royal Navy traditions issued a daily tot of rum to eligible sailors over 20 years of age. However, Federation occurred on 1 January 1901 with the transfer of colonial navies to the Commonwealth Naval Forces on 1 March 1901. This amalgamation did not happen overnight and it was not until 1904/05 that the separate entities were fully integrated and it is assumed that the rum issued ceased at this time.
The Australian Naval Force was founded in May 1904 when the first recruit John Garfield Clubb of Balmain was issued with ANF Service No 1. Over the next decade 1,795 boys and men enlisted in the ANF but effectively they were Royal Navy ratings as they served in Royal Navy ships of the Australian Squadron. As such they would have been eligible to draw the rum issue.
Another reference found to the abstinence of rum in the RAN comes from the biographical ‘A Merciful Journey’ by Marsden Hordern (2005). He says: “At the time of the formation of the RAN in 1911 it had been established that, in lieu of grog, they would be allowed an extra threepence a day, and this rule still held”. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a Commonwealth Navy Order or similar regulation to confirms the authenticity of this statement.
The first Australian Navy warships were the torpedo boat destroyers Parramatta and Yarra which were built in Scotland. Parramatta was launched first by Mrs Margot Asquith, wife of Britain’s Prime Minister on 9 February 1910, and christened with a bottle of Australian wine. The words spoken by Mrs Asquith on that occasion were “First born of the Commonwealth Navy – I name you Parramatta and God bless you and those that sail in you”. On 19 September 1910 Parramatta and Yarra were commissioned at Portsmouth as ships of the Royal Navy for their passage to Australia. As the founding father of the Naval Historical Society of Australia Lew Lind (1982) tells us: “These ships were the first of the Royal Navy to sail from Portsmouth without rum tubs”.
When Parramatta and Yarra arrived at our then temporary capital city of Melbourne on 10 December 1910 the White Ensign which they had sailed under was ceremoniously replaced by the Australian National Flag (a Blue Ensign). The following year on 10 July 1911 King George V approved the designation of “Royal Australian Navy” which was promulgated by the Naval Board on 5 October 1911 when henceforth Australian Naval Vessels were prefixed as “His Majesty’s Australian Ships (HMAS). The Board also ordered that all naval ships were to fly the White Ensign at the stern and the Australian National Flag at the jackstaff.
A later reference by Ward (1938) in a recruitment style magazine which on its cover says published with the approval and support of the Australian Naval Board and the preface is written by Vice Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin who was First Naval Member of the Australian Naval Board from 1937 to 1942. Providing this publication some credibility. On page 28 there is a photo of a rum issue and under the following caption:
Issuing rum rations to the men on HMS Leander at Prince’s Pier, Port Melbourne. Rum ceased to be issued to the personnel of the Australian Navy in 1911 following an internal plebiscite amongst the men. If the occasion should arise, beer instead will be issued no doubt.
Note HMS Leander as part of the New Zealand Division visited Melbourne in January 1938.
Summary
In summary the Australian Colonial Navies had rum issues but this would have ceased by 1905. However, those engaging in the Australian Naval Forces serving in Royal Naval ships until 1911 would have been eligible to the rum issue. The first Australian Naval Ships to arrive on our shores in 1910 did not issue rum. And as far as it is known rum was never issued in ships of the Commonwealth Naval Forces or the Royal Australian Navy. It would be interesting to know if there is any further information on the ‘plebiscite’ conducted on this topic.
References
Lind, Lew, The Royal Australian Navy Year by Year, Reed Books, Sydney, 1982.
Hordern, Marsden, A Merciful Journey, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2005.
Ward, J. W., Our Australian Navy, Ward Publishing, Melbourne, 1938.
