Replenishment at Sea (RAS) Approach, HMAS Supply, Hobart and Sydney

• About Geoff Anthony

  Geoff is currently serving in the Royal Australian Navy as a Marine Technician/Senior Hull Maintainer. He has always painted and is a watercolour artist and member of the Australian Society of Marine Artists.

  He has served on HMAS Melbourne, HMAS Hobart and HMAS Brisbane.

  Geoff is mainly self-taught but in 1997 he attended weekend classes at Julian Ashton’s in Sydney and during that time spent twelve months sketching and painting around the City of Sydney. which led to two solo exhibitions in Newtown and a shared exhibition in Enmore in 1998.

  Geoff sketches a scene and then refines his composition before painting. His sketches help capture the structure of ships and harbour scenes with technical precision. Geoff said “I’ve been painting and drawing since longer than I remember. It’s one of those things I’ve always done.” Painting has helped to keep him level-headed and grounded.

  Geoff primarily works in watercolour, a medium he chose for its difficulty and expressive potential. He uses wet-on-wet technique which involves applying wet paint onto a wet surface, allowing colours to bleed and blend organically. Ideal for depicting stormy skies, ocean spray, and fluid movement in water scenes. The wet-on-wet technique enhances the emotional depth and atmospheric realism of his paintings.

  His time in the Royal Australian Navy deeply influences his subject matter. Paintings often feature naval vessels like HMAS Choules, HMAS Melbourne, HMAS Hobart and others. These works reflect both technical accuracy and emotional connection to life at sea.

  Geoff has exhibited widely, including having had three of his artworks displayed in the 2023 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Defending the Arts. His work has gained recognition for its authenticity and emotional depth.

  Some works are commissioned by fellow sailors to commemorate ships they served on. His paintings serve as visual memoirs, preserving naval history and personal stories.

  More paintings by Geoff Anthony
• About Ships and aircraft in company

  In this section a wide variety of artworks with more than one ship, submarine or aircraft are featured. When two or more naval vessels are operating together they are said to be ‘in company’.

  The diverse nature of activities, exercises and deployments undertaken by ships, submarines and aircraft of the Royal Australian Navy means that a ship may spend long periods conducting single ship operations or periodically join with large numbers of other ships for such events as a naval review or fleet entry to a port. These latter events are generally scheduled to commemorate a particular event.  During such events a prominent or royal figure will review the fleet as part of the ceremony. Throughout its history ships of the RAN have participated in major fleet entries and reviews both in Australian waters and overseas.

   

  Details of Ships in the First Fleet

  Name	Class	Commission Dates
  HMAS Australia	Indefatigable Class	21 Jun 1913 – 12 Dec 1921
  HMAS Melbourne	Town Class Light Cruiser	18 Jan 1913 – 23 Apr 1928
  HMAS Sydney	Town Class Light Cruiser	26 Jun 1913 – 8 May 1928
  HMAS Encounter	Challenger Class Light Cruiser	1 Jul 1912 – 1 Jan 1923
  HMAS Warrego	River Class	1 Jun 1912 – 22 Jul 1919
  HMAS Parramatta	River Class	10 Sep 1910 – 22 Jul 1919
  HMAS Yarra	River Class	10 Sep 1910 –  30 Sep 1929

More reading

• Additional resources for Geoff Anthony
  • Geoff Anthony, Marine Artists Australia
  • Keeping focused and level at sea, Defence
  • HMAS Supply II, Facebook
• Additional resources for Ships and aircraft in company
  • Australian Fleet Reviews 1788 to 1914
  • Occasional Paper 162: Port Phillip’s Fleet Review 1920
  • The Royal Australian Navy fleet entry of 1913 (awm.gov.au)
  • Occasional Paper 17: Fleet arrival in Sydney – 4 October 1913
  • 1913 RAN Fleet Entry (Youtube)