By MIDN Li-Chun Chen RAN Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Chen grew up in Melbourne where they developed a love of learning with particular interests in science and philosophy. The younger ...
My Father’s Service in the RNZAF during WWII: Airman Pilot Ian Speedy RNZAF
By Max Speedy This article first appeared in the June 2022 edition of the RAN Fleet Air Arm magazine Slipstream Vol 33 No 2 and is reproduced by kind permission ...
MV Fairsea and Fire at Sea
A recently joined member of our Society, Kristiane Molloy, has provided an interesting story of her first voyage as a twenty-one-year-old nurse in 1969. She was a passenger aboard the ...
Cruising into Calm Waters or Stormy Seas
By Walter Burroughs Until the viral pandemic of the 2020s cruising was the wonder of the travel industry; starting in earnest in the 1960s it became a worldwide phenomenon with ...
The Tobruk Run – The Loss of HMS Auckland
By Andreas Biermann A 1200-ton general purpose sloop about to enter the building program was assigned the name HMS Heron, but was renamed and commissioned as HMS Auckland on 16 ...
The Changing Role of Naval Chaplaincy
By Senior Chaplain Richard Quadrio RAN Observing from afar, most especially with new uniform badges worn by Chaplains and later the introduction of Maritime Spiritual Wellbeing Officers (MSWO), it is ...
The Seas of Change: Integrating Women aboard Australian Submarines
By LEUT L.M. Dunsmore RAN Earlier this year this essay was awarded the Naval Historical Society History Prize from candidates of the New Entry Officer Course 65. Publication was withheld ...
Norfolk Island goes to War and New Zealand’s Aircraft Carrier
By Walter Burroughs Since 1788 Norfolk Island has been occupied and governed from the Australian mainland. As the following story unfolds, however, we shall see that for six years during ...
Finding HM Bark Endeavour
By Fairlie Clifton Much of the modern history of Australia and New Zealand arises from the discoveries of James Cook and his fine ship Endeavour. For this reason Endeavour is ...
Occasional Paper 133: Operation C – The Indian Ocean showdown between British and Japanese naval might, 4 – 9 April 1942.
By Angus Britts Wednesday 8 April 1942 was a day of ignominy for the greatest naval power the modern world had thus far known. Since 30 March the Royal Navy’s ...
‘Fast and Furious’ – The Battle of Cape Spada: Part II
By Andreas Biermann Battles involving HMA Ships Sydney I and Sydney II illuminate the history of the RAN. Sydney I provided our first major victory of WWI in her epic engagement ...
HMS Diamond and Desertions on the Australia Station
By John Smith The Royal Navy’s Australia Station was in existence from 1859 until 1913 when the newly created Royal Australian Navy took over the naval defence of Australia. The ...
A Garden Island Apprenticeship
The December 2021 edition of this magazine contained an article How did we get 16-inch Gun Projectiles to Australia?This came from the memoirs of Geoff Davidson, and using the same ...
I Name this Ship….
By Mary White The following article is taken from the July 1948 edition of The Navy magazine and is reproduced by kind permission of the Editor. The parish of St. ...
The Arthur Lunan Story: Part II
The late Arthur Lunan maintained a diary of his service in the RAN from 1941 to 1946. His brother in law William Moody digitised this and added some family photographs. ...
Imperial Japan’s ‘Naval Invasion’ of Western Australia
By Kate Reid-Smith By the end of 1943, Japan’s archipelagic defensive perimeter across the Dutch East Indies was fracturing. Ongoing and successful Allied counteroffensives, on islands closest to the Australian ...
End of an Era: Sail Training at Royal Australian Naval College
By LCDR David Jones RAN Changing Times From 2022, sailing has been removed from the initial training curriculum for new entry officers at RANC. Non-motorised small boat handling, sailing and ...
Farewell Sydney and Kenneth Butler
By Darrell White ASMA The original oil on canvas artwork Farewell Sydney was commissioned by the Western Australia Cricket Association (now WA Cricket) and made possible by a donation from ...
‘Bimbashi’ Mcpherson: A Life in Egypt
By Walter Burroughs A casual browse through the bookshelves of opportunity shops can produce some surprises. Disorganised, with no rhyme or reason to subject matter, it is as well to ...
A Context for the Fremantle Naval Volunteers
By John McGrath Introduction The fascinating article by Ron and Ian Forsyth about the Fremantle Naval Volunteers1 opens the way to consideration of the way in which this force fitted ...
A Brief History of the Australian Hydrographic Service
By Kevin Slade, PSM & John Perryman, CSM This article first appeared in the 2020 edition of Navy Outlook and is reproduced by kind permission of the editor of that ...
Rommel’s Riposte
By Andreas Biermann1 We were recently contacted by the author regarding an article published in a previous edition of the Naval Historical Review in which we incorrectly attributed the date ...
The Distribution, Design, Construction and Sustainability of Indigenous Watercraft in Australia: Part One.
By David Payne The First Nations people of Australia and Torres Strait have a history of settlement spanning at least 65,000 years. They are the world’s oldest living culture and ...
Navy Gap Year Experience
By MIDN Lloyd Skinner RAN The Navy Gap Year program was established to provide Sailor and Officer recruits the opportunity to undertake a ‘try before you buy’ approach to a ...
Weather Islands
By Malcolm Riley1 This article first appeared in the September 2020 edition of Afloat and is reproduced with the kind permission of the editor of that magazine and of the ...