HMAS Gladstone paid off at Melbourne. She was not to be idle for long however, as she was sold to the Port Phillip Pilots’ Association. She served as a pilot relief ship for seventeen years under the name Akuna. In November 1973 press reports stated that Akuna had been bought by a Melbourne businessman, Mr Scot Bevan-Davies, for use as a private yacht. In February 1981 a report was received that Akuna II, as the ship had been renamed, was owned by ‘Food for the Hungry International’ and was based at Singapore. It was stated that she was engaged in picking up Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Thailand and had been doing so for about 18 months.