On This Day

1976-1999 > Post Vietnam

On This Day - 1976-1999

November 25, 1983

The Australian Government signed an agreement with waterfront trade unions to ensure a minimum of industrial disputes during the building of two guided missile frigates at Williamstown Dockyard, VIC. It was the first such agreement made in Australia.

November 19, 1983

The Wessex celebrated 21 years of service in the RAN and the occasion was marked with a flypast of RAN Wessex, Iroquois and Sea King helicopters as well Royal Navy Sea Harriers from the visiting HMS Invincible.

October 18, 1983

RADM G. Woolrych, AO, was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Her Majesty’s Australian Fleet.

September 30, 1983

Former HMAS Colac ceased service as a tank cleaning vessel. After nine years in Reserve, Colac had been taken in hand in 1962 for conversion to a tank cleaning vessel. She was sunk by a Mk 48 warshot torpedo fired by HMAS Ovens off Jervis Bay on 4 March 1987

August 27, 1983

The Fremantle class patrol boat HMAS GAWLER, was commissioned at Cairns, QLD.

August 26, 1983

In a small ceremony conducted in the small boats harbour at HMAS Stirling HMAS Adroit was turned over to the Commanding Officer of the Fremantle Port Division Commander Don Bantock, RD, RANR, for use by the Western Australian Division of the RANR. In that role her crew comprised three RANR officers, fourteen RANR sailors and two PNF sailors.

August 2, 1983

HMAS GAWLER, (Fremantle class patrol boat), was commissioned.

July 9, 1983

HMAS GAWLER, (Fremantle class patrol boat), was commissioned at Cairns, QLD.

July 1, 1983

Commander June Baker appointed as Executive Officer HMAS Penguin (the first woman to be appointed as a RAN Executive Officer—Second in Command. (*Actual day of month unknown)

June 30, 1983

Operational flying of jet aircraft in the RAN ceased.

June 17, 1983

HMAS Snipe decommissioned. Snipe remained in the Reserve Fleet until she was sold in 1985 to be broken up.

June 14, 1983

HMAS BENDIGO, (patrol boat), rescued the cross-Pacific rower Peter Bird, after his boat broke up off Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, QLD.

June 12, 1983

The personnel strength of the RAN was 17,198 officers and men.

June 3, 1983

HMAS SNIPE, (Ton class minesweeper), was decommissioned at Sydney.

May 28, 1983

The Fremantle class patrol boat HMAS BENDIGO, was commissioned. BENDIGO was laid down at North Queensland EA, Cairns, QLD, and launched on 9 May 1983. Mrs Lynam, (Wife of RADM D. F. Lynam), performed the launching ceremony.

May 20, 1983

HMAS ACUTE, (patrol boat),was paid off in Darwin and commissioned into the Indonesian Navy as the KRI SILEA. She joined her sistership, HMAS BARRICADE, renamed KRI SIGALU, which was given to Indonesia in 1982.

April 28, 1983

HMAS BENDIGO, (Fremantle class patrol boat), was commissioned.

April 15, 1983

The Australian Government announced that HMS INVINCIBLE, (aircraft carrier), would be renamed HMAS AUSTRALIA when she joined the RAN. As a result of the Falkland’s War the British Government decided to retain HMS INVINCIBLE, and offered HMS HERMES as a replacement. However, in 1983 the newly elected Labour Government cancelled the potential purchase of the ship. Among the reasons given were age of ship, high personell maning requirement, cost, and new directions for the RAN.

March 5, 1983

HMAS CESSNOCK, (Fremantle class patrol boat), was commissioned.

January 29, 1983

LEUT G. A. Ledger, RAN, piloted an Iroquois helicopter in a hazardous night operation to rescue 13 passengers trapped in four cable cars over Keppel Harbour in Singapore, during a heavy monsoon storm. The passengers had become trapped after the cable was damaged by the boom of a floating crane being towed down the harbour. LEUT Ledger was then on exchange with the Singaporean Air Force, and was awarded the Military State Commendation of Singapore.

The FFG-7, (Adelaide), class guided missile frigate HMAS SYDNEY, was commissioned. SYDNEY was laid down in Todd Pacific Shipyard, Seattle, USA, 16 January 1980, and launched on 26 September 1980. She was the fourth ship of the name to serve in the RAN.

December 17, 1982

HMAS Banks ceased to be a commissioned ship of the RAN , but this was not the end of her sea going career as she was retained in service, performing a variety of general purpose tasks chiefly in waters in and around Jervis Bay. In 1985 GPV Banks was transferred to Sydney where she continued to operate from HMAS Waterhen. In 1995 GPV Banks left Sydney to undergo maintenance at Port Macquarie. The 10 month refit ended in disaster when the ship caught fire and was extensively damaged. Deemed by the RAN to be beyond economical repair Banks was subsequently put up for auction and was purchased by Mr Peter Smith, a retired fitter and turner. The vessel was gradually refitted and restored to her former glory and for many years was a popular attraction at Ulladulla, NSW. Banks was later on-sold and operated as a commercial vessel in the Airlie Beach region in Queensland for several years. In March 2017, during Cyclone Debbie, Banks was stranded at Cid Harbour in the Whitsunday Island Group. The vessel was salvaged by Coral Coast Oceaneering in July 2018 and towed to Townsville for scrapping.

HMAS Bass decommissioned but remained in service as Waterhen’s training vessel.In October 1985, Bass was reassigned to the Darwin Port Division of the Royal Australian Navy Reserve. In 1994, Bass was paid off and sold. The vessel entered civilian service as MV Bass

November 13, 1982