Rosa Kirkcaldie (1887-1972) was a hospital matron and army nurse born at Homebush, Sydney and trained at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney between 1910 and 1914. She gained her ...
Occasional Paper 193: The First Naval Dockyard of the Royal Australian Navy Cockatoo Island, Shipbuilding, 1870 to 1986
Cockatoo Island is the largest Island in Sydney Harbour and is located at the junction of the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers, about 3.7 km west of the Sydney Harbour ...
Occasional Paper 184: History of HMA Naval Dockyard, Williamstown.
With the discovery of gold in Victoria in the decade 1851-1861, the population increased sevenfold. The large fleet of vessels that brought these people into the Port of Melbourne overwhelmed ...
Occasional Paper 183: The RAN Bridging Train – Dry Land Sailors
The Bridging Train which existed as a small but highly effective unit of the RAN operated essentially on dry land as field engineers between 1915 and 1917. They served with ...
Occasional Paper 150: Palm Island – World War Connections
By David Michael As experience continues to demonstrate, major conflict and wars not only affect those living in the immediate area of operations but regionally and often globally. These conflicts ...
FLYING STATIONS II, The Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Air Arm 1998-2022: Book Review
Edited by Lieutenant Commander Desmond Woods OAM RAN Published by the RAN Fleet Air Arm in conjunction with Avonmore Books, Kent Town, South Australia 5071 ISBN 978-0-6452469-5-7 Reviewed by David ...
Australian White Ensign Replacement Service, St Johns Church, Birchgrove, 19 June 2022
On Sunday 19 June 2022 a ceremony to present and dedicate a new White Ensign at St Johns Church in Birchgrove, NSW, was conducted to replace one originally presented to ...
Occasional Paper 137: Battle of the Coral Sea (4–8 May 1942)
This short account of the May 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea focuses on the strategically significant outcomes of the battle and how they related to the future of World War 2 and Australians in particular. ...
Occasional Paper 136: Gun Battle on the Han
In this personal account by Lieutenant Commander Roberts RAN who was Executive Officer of HMAS Murchison during the Korean War, he describes gun battles fought against North Korean ground forces during Murchison’s patrols of the Han River between July 1951 and January 1952. ...
Occasional Paper 135: Was Heihachiro Tōgō Japan’s Horatio Nelson?
In this paper Richard Broinowski makes an interesting comparison between Admiral Lord Nelson and Japan’s Heihachiro Tōgō born in 1847 to a samurai family and hero of the battle of Tsushima Strait during which the fledgling Japanese Navy achieved a Trafalgar like victory over the Russian Fleet. ...
Salute to Three Good Men
During the recent festive season, the Naval Historical Society of Australia lost three long term members whose service to the nation and community in peace and war is a fine ...
Occasional Paper 126: A New Crane for Sydney’s Skyline
By John Jeremy Cranes are a regular feature of Sydney’s skyline, particularly the many construction cranes which, at a glance, reveal the state of the construction industry in Australia’s largest ...
The Royal Australian Navy in World War One
The following note was provided by Captain Sean Andrews, RAN Director of the Sea Power Centre -Australia. Thanks also for the link to a short film made by the Sea ...
Wallaroo’s Submarine Attack
On 14 JULY 2012 a short letter was received from Mr Les Heap of Lane Cove providing brief information, which may be historically significant, on the Bathurst Class minesweeper HMAS ...
The White Ensign in the Middle East
By Greg Swinden Having recently returned from a second deployment to the Middle East a colleague suggested that I put down in writing some of my thoughts and recollections of ...