Found in a Charity Shop Within the folds of gentle green hills and quiet countryside of mid-Wales, far removed from the sea, lies St David’s College Lampeter, part of Britain’s ...
Hulks and Honey
Introduction The name Hulk Bay does not conjure up romantic notions of a sparkling Sydney Harbour; perhaps this was why it was later renamed Lavender Bay, which remains to this ...
The Greatest Event in our Time – Moon landing
By Doris Shearman ‘I Think It’s Gonna Be a Long Long Time’ – from Elton John’s 1972 iconic song ‘Rocket Man’ about an astronaut preparing for a space mission. Introduction ...
The British Centre: from Hyde Park to Hornsby Hospital
With thanks to Councillor Nathan Tilbury of the Hornsby Council, the Vice President of the Hornsby Historical Society, and a local paper The Bush Telegraph (February 2022) we are pleased ...
Third Officer Ruby Boye BEM WRANS
The remarkable story of Mrs. Ruby Boye has recently received considerable media attention. This version, dictated later in her life by Mrs. Boye to her friend and neighbour Mrs. Joy ...
Presentation and Dedication of an Australian White Ensign at St Johns Church Birchgrove on Sunday 19 June 2022
With kind permission of the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral M.J. Noonan AO RAN, the Naval Historical Society of Australia presented an Australian White Ensign to St John’s Church Birchgrove, ...
The Royal Charter Tragedy
A shipping venture to service the Australian colonies had unforeseen consequences for gold miners who had struck it rich and were returning to their homelands with wealth. After nearly two ...
Letter: HMAS Wagga – Seeing the Light
On 21 April 2022 we received a request from our dedicated member David Williams for help in identifying some objects from the corvette HMAS Wagga held in the City of ...
Letter: RAN ships launched in Australia
The Reverend Arthur Rix and ship launching ceremonies. The March 2022 edition of the NHR contained a story I Name this Ship which states that the Rev. Arthur Rix officiated ...
The Arthur Lunan Story: Part III
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. William and ...
The Boatshed
This story may serve as a small tribute to Robin Stone who for many years was an invaluable volunteer at the Boatshed. In fact, she ran the place, being responsible ...
Occasional Paper 132: The First Admiral: Admiral Sir G. Francis Hyde, KCB, CVO, CBE
By Lieutenant Commander A.W. Grazebrook First published in the June 1974 edition of the Naval Historical Review. The majority of the more senior retired officers of the Royal Australian Navy ...
Bougainville
This article forms the final part of a trilogy covering the history of the Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island. Part 1 discussing the Solomon Islands from European discovery to the ...
The Queensland Maritime Museum
The Queensland Maritime Museum (QMM) is facing an uncertain future as a number of recent unfortunate events have conspired to undermine the credibility of this important institution which until recent ...
The Australian Antarctic Territory and the Australian Antarctic Research Survey Ship Nuyina
With the arrival of the new Australian Antarctic ship Nuyina at her home port of Hobart it is appropriate to look back to the beginning of our association with the ...
Shipbuilding and the Australian Naval Shipbuilding College
A number of well-intentioned Government initiatives are not necessarily known in the wider community. In the case of the Naval Shipbuilding College this is a pity, as this organisation has ...
The Parker Family and their Contribution to the RAN
With the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, there have been many fine tributes to his memory. A number of these mention an Australian born Private ...
The Koolama Incident
One of the most intriguing wartime dramas occurred off the Western Australian coast in February 1942 concerning attacks made by Japanese aircraft on the motor vessel Koolama. The story of ...
A Mortar Mystery
In November 2020 the Naval Historical Society was approached by colleagues from across the Tasman for help in finding a Mortar Mark 10 which was required for their museum. During ...
Occasional Paper 114: Rescue of Vietnamese Refugees (MG99) by HMAS Melbourne, 21 June 1981
On Sunday 21 June 1981 HMA Ships Melbourne and Torrens were participating in Exercise Starfish 81 in the South China Sea when they rescued 99 Vietnamese refugees, now known as ...
Occasional Paper 116: Navy Veterans Salute the ‘Forgotten War’
On Thursday 24th June 2021 the N.A.A. (Naval Association of Australia Queensland) highlighted the service of members of the Royal Australia Navy in the Korean War. At 4am on June ...
Leonard Roy McLeod – Soldier and Sailor
A recent photograph of some veterans at the 75th anniversary celebrations of the great Battles of Leyte Gulf showed Rear Admiral Guy Griffiths and ex-Able Seaman David Mattiske who both ...
Quarantine and the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020
The spread of Coronavirus and its worldwide impacts have brought home the need for quarantine as a means of segregating those with suspected infection from the general population. This paper ...
George Hermon Gill: Writer of History
The name George Hermon Gill might mean little to a new generation of men and women serving in the RAN but in your careers you will almost certainly come across ...
A Tribute to Norman Rivett
Norman (Norm) Rivett, an esteemed founding father of the Naval Historical Society, passed over the bar on 8 March 2021 just shy of his 96th birthday. He will be ...