Several events concerning the three HMA Ships Hobart come together with a memorial and commemoration service at the Garden Island Chapel on Sunday 22nd July starting at 10.00am. HMAS Hobart ...
Occasional papers
Occasional Paper 29: Captain Frederick Melbourne Piggott’s Submarine Service
June 2018 Captain Frederick Melbourne Piggott RD RNR was born in the UK in April 1915 and moved to Australia in 1943 where he trained young men to handle a ...
Occasional Paper 28: Cockatoo Island – An Historical Account
June 2018 Cockatoo Island has a long association with the RAN. The Island has World Heritage Listing and some additional information can be found on our website at https://navyhistory.au/naval-heritage-sites/cockatoo-island. This ...
Occasional Paper 27: Royal Naval House, ‘Johnnies’: Some Personal Reminisces
May 2018 Royal Australian Naval House has always been known affectionately as ‘Johnnies’, although the origin of the name is hard to trace. From 1968 to 1970 a young Able ...
Occasional Paper 26: Salvage of the German Seehunde Midget Submarine
May 2018 Roger Buxton, an active member of the Society’s Victorian Chapter obtained the original, report of the 1945 recovery of a German Seehunde class midget submarine by Lieutenant V ...
Occasional Paper 25: Recovery of German Midget Submarine and Torpedo, Dover, January 1945
April 2018 Report by LEUT J.V.Steele RNVR, DTM(I) Roger Buxton, an active member of the Society’s Victorian Chapter has obtained two original, typed reports of the 1945 recovery of German ...
Occasional Paper 24: Sydney Harbour Minefield
April 2018 Through the Society’s relationship with the Australian National Maritime Museum, stories are shared between the two organizations. The following is an Article from ‘All Hands’ December 2017 edition, ...
Occasional Paper 37: Allan Charles Green [1878-1954], the man behind the Photos
In the State Library of Victoria we have an amazing photographic collection of ship photo thanks to Allan Green. He was born in Daylesford, in the Central Victorian goldfields ...
Occasional Paper 38: RAN Returns to the Unit System of Machinery Layout
After World War 2 the Daring Class destroyer was designed taking into account the lessons learnt for the ships damaged during the war. Many destroyers had been rendered unpowered because ...
Occasional Paper 40: Secret history of the first Australian to be given Penicillin
On Thursday 9th August 2018 the ABC 7.30 Report broadcast a story by Tracy Bowden about the first use of penicillin in Australia. Tracy has given permission to the Naval ...
Occasional Paper 39: Compelled to Resign – The story of Commander Paul Hugill Hirst RAN 1899-1963
by Lieutenant Commander Terry Feltham RAN Ret’d “Just because something ends doesn’t mean it never should’ve been. Remember, you lived, you learned, you grew and you moved on”. Anon. Why ...
Occasional Paper 23: HMAS Darwin Decommissioning
On 8 December 2017 the guided missile frigate HMAS Darwin was decommissioned in a ceremony at Fleet Base East, Garden Island in the presence of former crew and hundreds of ...
Occasional Paper 22: HMAS Advance faces 50
An Article from ‘All Hands’ December 2017 edition The Australian National Maritime Museum Volunteers’ Quarterly Newsletter By Wal Robson The museum’s popular patrol boat has a significant birthday coming up ...
Occasional Paper 21: Battle of the Atlantic: Appeal for £2.5m memorial
Artists Impression of the monument The charity needs to raise £2.5m for the planned monument on the Pier Head A campaign to build a national memorial to the estimated ...
Occasional Paper 36: HMAS Sydney (III) Delivery to Australia 1949
Our thanks go to Debbie Irwin for the letter by her uncle, Stoker Mechanician James (Jim) Ashwood of HMAS Sydney (3) to his sister Nancy dated 8 May 1949 about ...
Occasional Paper 14: Interview with Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie Gregory, R.A.N. Rtd
Amended interview with Australians at War Film Archive This original interview is from this page, the Australians at War Film Archive. There is also a copy of the uncorrected interview ...
Occasional Paper 19: Surgeon Commander Alexander Ruan Caw, RAN
December 2017 Surgeon Commander Alexander Ruan Caw, RAN MB BS. Adelaide. 1879-1924 These biographical notes on CMDR Alexander Caw who served in HMAS Australia during World War 1 were provided ...
Occasional Paper 20: Surgeon LCDR Jack Rupert Law Willis, RAN
December 2017 Surgeon LCDR Jack Rupert Law Willis, RAN 1888-1971 MB BS Melb These biographical notes on LCDR Jack Willis who served in HMS Prince of Wales during World War ...
Occasional Paper 18: Ensigns Associated With Ships Based at Garden Island
November 2017 Flags have a long been a fascination of founding Society member Mr Norman Rivett as well as Garden Island in Sydney where he has worked and volunteered for ...
Occasional Paper 16: HMAS Australia and Atlantic rescue of Coastal Command Sunderland – 1940
October 2017 On Monday 28th October 1940, I was serving as an eighteen year old Midshipman in HMAS “Australia”, an 8 inch gun cruiser. At that time, we had arrived on ...
Occasional Paper 17: Fleet arrival in Sydney – 4 October 1913
October 2017 At an Imperial Conference held in 1909, it was decided to deploy to Australian waters a naval unit consisting of at least a battle cruiser, three second class ...
Occasional Paper 15: Battle of Bita Paka 11 September 1914
September 2017 The Battle of Bita Paka (11 September 1914) was fought south of Kabakaul, on the island of New Britain, and was a part of the invasion and subsequent ...
Occasional Paper 14: LCDR Mackenzie Jesse Gregory
September 2017 LCDR Mackenzie Jesse Gregory RAN Ret, (9/02/1922- 27/08/2014) was to my mind a fine example of the qualities a Naval Officer needed to have. He could communicate well, ...
Occasional Paper 12: Personal Experiences: Aftermath Of Japanese Submarine Attack: Sydney Harbour
August 2017 The following are accounts of individual contributions made by two remarkable people in the aftermath of the Japanese midget submarine attack in Sydney Harbour on 31 May 1942. ...
Occasional Paper 13: Local Australian/USA Submarine Initiative Helps Turn the Tide of War Against Japan in 1942
August 2017 The following story provided by Commodore Bob Trotter OAM RAN (Ret’d), National President of the Submarine Association is about a little-known part of the shared Australia/USA submarine history ...
