By Steve Chaplin In this article the author continues the history of Skywest Aviation which appeared in the December 2022 edition of this magazine. The Australian designed and manufactured Nomad ...
Naval history
Remembering Platypus and the Mothballed Fleet
By Vince Fazio We recently became aware of a proposal to upgrade the Watsons Bay Wharf and have written of our concerns (see Letters) to the Manager of the Project ...
Letter: Rookwood Cemetery
Dear Editor, The similarities between the Rookwood Cemetery, described in the article by Mark Bundy (December 2023 issue, p. 31), and the Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey, England, caused me to ...
Occasional Paper 154: The Expedition to Malaita
The following is a chapter from the biography of Harvey Wilmot, ‘I’ll tell the world’ written by his son Jeff Wilmot. Harvey Wilmot served as a telegraphist in the Royal; ...
Occasional Paper 155: Patrolling Northern Australia
By John Jeremy The work of patrolling the seas to the north of Australia has become a major task for the RAN and the Australian Border Force. It is easy ...
The bizarre story of HMAS STALWART and 300 tons of rotten onions
In 1939 Sydney had a shortage of onions. A period of drought had affected the Victorian crop, and in order to fulfil the demand for the 20, 000 tonnes of ...
Letter: A Christmas Story
In the December 2019 edition of this magazine we ran a ‘Christmas Story’ relating to the naval service of Temporary Lieutenant Ernest Joseph Huson Christmas RANVR. Lieutenant Christmas was in ...
Letter: Ben Boyd National Park
An email was received from a member relating to the story contained in the September 2022 issue of this magazine What’s in a Name: The Ben Boyd National Park. This ...
Book Review: Portrait of a Working Dockyard
Portrait of a Working Dockyard. This photobook by Berylouise Mitchell comes in a limited edition, handmade in A4 landscape format by Australia’s premier photobook printer MomentoPro in Sydney and sells ...
Book Review: Flying Stations II
Flying Stations II. The Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Air Arm 1998-2022. This fine book edited by Lieutenant Commander Desmond Woods OAM RAN is published by the RAN Fleet Air Arm ...
Book Review: Australia’s Secret Army.
Australia’s Secret Army. A story of the Coastwatchers, the unsung heroes of Australia’s Armed Forces during World War II is told by Michael Veitch, published by Hachette, Sydney, 2022. Soft ...
A Lonely and Dangerous Vigil: New Zealand and Coastwatching in the Second World War and RNZN Involvement 1939-1945
By Michael Wynd In Australia we possess a plethora of material on Coastwatchers but know very little of a similar operation on the other side of the Tasman. This fine ...
A Magnificent Greek Warship
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 ...
An Essay on the 2005 Nias Island Sea King Crash
By MIDN T.D. Craig This well researched essay providing a critical analysis of serious problems within the Fleet Air Arm was a runner up to the Naval Historical Society history ...
Skywest Aviation in the Coastwatch Role
By Steve Chaplin Background As an island continent, Australia has an extensive coastline, not only to patrol, but also to protect. As a result of a number of events occurring ...
The NSW Department of Main Roads (DMR) at War
By Rohan Goyne This story complements an article in the June 2022 edition of the Naval Historical Review concerning the wartime construction of airfields on Norfolk Island and New Caledonia. ...
Our First Patrol Boats
By Walter Burroughs In recent times Australia could be considered a mecca for the patrol boat industry: from a slow post war start with the Attack class, they were replaced ...
The River Clyde: The cradle of British shipbuilding and the birthplace of the Royal Australian Navy
By CMDR Tony Vine RAN Rtd The River Clyde in Scotland has long been described as the cradle of the British shipbuilding industry and in 1909 it became the foundation ...
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 ...
Occasional Paper 151: The Christmas Books
By Geoff Barnes This story first appeared in ‘All Hands’, the quarterly volunteers’ journal at the Australian National Maritime Museum. Our thanks to the ANMM Volunteers for allowing us to ...
Occasional Paper 152: HMAS Rushcutter
On 1 August 1940, the Naval Depot (sited in Rushcutters Bay Park, Sydney) was commissioned as HMAS Rushcutter. This former Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base has an illustrious past. It ...
Occasional Paper 153: County Class ships of the Royal Navy: A photographic review
By Conrad Waters The following feature was first published in the Ships Monthly magazine and subsequently by the Heritage Machines website on 19th October 2022. The Royal Navy’s series of ...
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 ...
Occasional Paper 149: Nor West Capture
By Steve Chaplin, former RAN Leading Seaman Weapons Mechanic (LSWM) What could be more calming and restful, other than relaxing and taking in the serene ice blue, flat calm waters ...