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 ...
Memories of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
News of the death of Prince Philip was received with great sadness when he recently crossed the bar just short of his century. Not only was he a magnificent consort ...
Occasional Paper 113: A Sailor’s Life in the Mediterranean, 1940/41: Pictorial Record
An insight into the lighter moments in the life of Stores Assistant Gordon Hill who served in HMAS Vendetta from September 1938 until May 1941. ...
Occasional Paper 112: The Hollywood Fleet in Sydney Harbour
How four luxurious gin palaces became hard-working heroines of the Battle of Sydney Harbour. By Neale Philip ...
Occasional Paper 111: HMAS Australia I – Post WWI and Scuttling
After returning home to Australia on 15 June 1919 after an absence of 1775 days HMAS Australia I resumed the role of RAN flagship. A year later she played the ...
Occasional Paper 110: Charles Killick, RAN Bandsman, 1918-1925
Correspondence relating to the 99th birthday of veteran bandsman, Charles Killick who served in HMAS Australia during World War 1. ...
Occasional Paper 109: First Command
A recollection of a first submarine command experience by Captain Goodwin Felton Gower of the South African Navy was provided by his son Allen Gower who lives in Sydney. ...
Occasional Paper 108: Royal Navy Brig HMS Sappho
By Angus Britts Angus Britts is a member and volunteer with the NHSA. He is a qualified historian and has authored two published books: ‘Neglected Skies: The Demise of British ...
The 50th Anniversary of the Naval Historical Society of Australia: The Story So Far
This year, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Naval Historical Society of Australia. Following the Melbourne/Voyager/Frank E. Evans collisions and sentiment turning against an unpopular Vietnamese ...
Occasional Paper 106: RAN Clearance Divers: Records set in 1961
The Clearance Diving Branch of the Royal Australian Navy was formed in 1951 with the primary role of “location, identification and disposal of mines underwater”. Its secondary roles included “underwater ...
Occasional Paper 103: Brisbane rejoices as the US Navy comes to town (March 1941)
On 25 March 1941, a US Naval squadron visited Brisbane on a three-day goodwill visit. The United States had not yet entered the Second World War – Rear-Admiral Newton ...
Occasional Paper 104: Changi and the HMAS Perth Survivors
By Max Thomson HMAS PERTH survivors were the subject of a special request tabled to authorities when Changi prisoners of war were released in Singapore following Japan’s surrender in 1945. ...
Occasional Paper 101: RAN Torpedo Factory, Neutral Bay
By Midshipman Lloyd Skinner, RAN In 1942, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Torpedo Factory, located at Neutral Bay, Sydney commenced operations. Previously, the Torpedo Depot at Garden Island across the ...
Occasional Paper 100: Operation Estes
By Midshipman Lloyd Skinner, RAN Beginning in 1980, Operation Estes saw the government call upon the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to conduct regular surface patrols around Bass Strait. Aerial and ...
The Solomon Islands Part 2: from WWII to Present
This article forms 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 Second World War, ...
The HMAS Parramatta Memorials
In this our 50th year it is well to reflect on some of the more important projects undertaken by the Society and none is perhaps more worthy than conceiving a ...
A Tribute to Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean VC RANR
After many years of failure to gain recognition for the heroic deeds performed by Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean, the posthumous award of his Victoria Cross came as a sudden but ...
Occasional Paper 96: RAN Encounters with Papua New Guinea’s Big Rivers
By David Michael The passing of Commodore Sam Bateman RAN, (Rtd) in October 2020 reminded many people of his Command of the PNG based patrol boat, HMAS Aitape and its ...
Occasional Paper 95: Grandfather was a cableman
By Fairlie Clifton Fairlie Clifton is a long-term member of the Naval Historical Society and foundation member of the Australian National Maritime Museum where she volunteers as a guide. Her ...
Occasional Paper 94: Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie (Mac) Jesse Gregory RAN (Ret): 9 February 1922-27 August 2014
By Rex Williams, President Victorian Chapter of the NHSA As President since 2003 and active member during the period Mackenzie (Mac) Gregory was at the helm, Rex grew to love ...
Occasional Paper 93: Boxing in the Navy
By John Smith John Smith, our senior researcher, joined the RAN College in 1946 and retired as a Commander having specialised in gunnery. He served in many RAN ships and ...