December 9, 2016 is the 75th anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Tobruk, the port on the north coast of Libya, that proved such a thorn in Rommel’s ...
Old timer HMAS Krait
Three views of the Second World War Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) vessel Krait. The following description is from the Australian War Memorial website: “Operation Jaywick was a raid on shipping ...
US Coast Guard ‘Polar Star’: Veteran sails on
The US Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star (WAGB 10) has visited Sydney and many other Australian ports numerous times across her 49-year career. She was commissioned in 1976 as a ...
Losing a funnel – HMAS Protector: From the Archives
In June 1919, the Royal Australian Navy gunboat HMAS Protector almost sank. The incident took place off Cape Everard, (known as Point Hicks since 1970), the small coastal headland in ...
Box-Brownies’ : HMAS Platypus 1940-44
Good clear images of the veteran depot ship HMAS Platypus (I)during the Second World War, are a rare commodity. A few years back the editor received a number of ...
70 YEARS AGO HMAS QUEENBOROUGH’s 1955 TRAINING CRUISE
HMAS Queenborough sailed from Sydney for the United Kingdom on 24 February 1955. Her task, to gain experience in the latest methods of anti-submarine warfare and to evaluate the capabilities ...
ADV Stoker – bow to stern
Fremantle Port has now be staging an annual Maritime Day for many years. Last November the major on-water attraction was the Royal Australian Navy’s submarine rescue gear ship, ADV Stoker. ...
Commemorating HMAS Arrow
In the early hours of Christmas Day in 1974, HMAS Arrow’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Robert Dagworthy, decided to beach his boat in Frances Bay after Cyclone Tracey worsened. Although Arrow ...
Celebrating 80-years of service; The Captain Cook Graving Dock Sydney
In March 2025 the RAN and Garden Island celebrate the 80th anniversary of the famous Captain Cook Graving Dock. This immense piece of ‘naval hardware’ has always been the most ...
IN MEMORY: HMAS SYDNEY II
The Daily Mercury in Mackay, Queensland, featured the following ode to the lost light cruiser HMAS Sydney (II), sunk with all hands off the Western Australian coast on 19 November ...
QUITE a SIGHT – 101 years later : Melburnians come out in force
The city of Melbourne, then the nation’s capital, hosted the fleet, the Special Service Squadron, from 17 – 25 March 1924. The world’s largest and fastest capital ship, the one-of-a-kind ...
Occasional Paper 191: Aviation in the Royal Australian Navy, the first 65 Years, 1917 to 1982
The following story is based on a Royal Australian Navy News story first published on Friday 23 April 1982, page 4. Australian Naval aviation this month celebrated the 65th anniversary ...
Occasional Paper 190: Captain Cook Graving Dock 80th Anniversary: Engineering and Art
By Lorraine Fildes and Colin Randall This paper was compiled to mark the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Captain Cook Graving Dock at Garden Island in Sydney Harbour ...
Kongsberg Missile Systems
The following has been largely compiled from available media sources. Norway is a mountainous country in distant northern Europe, dominated by picturesque fjords with ready access to the sea. For ...
Golden Lace and Silken Ribbons
A recent article found on the UK Forces Net asks the question: Is the braid used on Royal Navy officers’ uniforms really made of precious metal? This article tells us ...
The World’s First Autonomous Vessel
In terms of Autonomous Vehicles, thoughts turn to new initiatives stemming from recent technology which significantly reduces manpower requirements and in the case of the armed forces also reduces potential ...
Offshore Support Vessels and the Loss of HMNZS Manawanui
Over recent times, second-hand general-purpose offshore support vessels emanating from the North Sea oil industry have become workhorses used by the Australian and New Zealand navies and associated services. In ...
Graeme Keith Andrews OAM: 1938–2024 A life dedicated to maritime heritage
Graeme Andrews developed a passion for the sea early in life and became one of the country’s foremost authorities on maritime heritage. Through his writing, research, and involvement in preserving ...
Sandakan: From Hell to Eternity
The December 2023 edition of this magazine contained an article titled Newcastle Reminiscences, compiled from the recollections of 97-year-old Mrs Thelma Tame. Her uncle was the late Major William Sticpewich ...
On the Australia Station
A tribute to the memories of Signalman Frederick Randall RN and Able Seaman John Reardon RN and RAN, who as young men contributed to the establishment of the Australia Station. ...
Queens at War
Birth of the Queens The great ocean liners and sister ships Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary feature as two of the most important troop carriers in the annals of Australian ...
The Properties, Office and Duetie of a Gunner
Introduction While searching for another reference this small story from the September 2003 edition of this magazine came to attention. It was written by Cyprian Lucar (1544-1611) and is from ...
Gaza Trident Pier – Start and Finish
An Inspirational Beginning Under a humanitarian aid initiative known as Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS), on Friday 17 May 2024 trucks began delivering shipments of humanitarian aid of food ...
100 Years ago: HMAS Australia and Gerald Muddyman
Observing that 15 April marks the centenary of the intentional sinking of the battlecruiser HMAS Australia, the following article taken from the Newington Magazine website, carefully curated by Robert Curran, ...
First NAAFI Store on board RFA Ship opens
This small article from the UK Forces Network is of some interest to us as there were originally four Bay-class RFA landing ship docks. One of these was RFA Largs ...