By David Scott David Horace Ford Scott grew up on a soldier-settler block near Holbrook, NSW but his parents were forced to walk off the property during the Depression and ...
The Battles for Leyte Gulf: where Australian ships fought in one of the greatest battles in naval history
Climate Change and ‘future wars between nation-states’?
By John W. Wells (1) This controversial article takes us out of our normal comfort zone as the author has definite views which are not necessarily shared by the Society. ...
Breaking Up is Hard to do
The title of the 1960s worldwide hit song recorded by Neil Sedaka seems appropriate to our next story concerning the disposal of warships. Living in an age of global consumerism ...
Our First Gardeners
By Norman Rivett Who were they? The first garden from which Garden Island derives its name commenced here on Monday the 7th of February 1788 when a party from HMS ...
HMAS Moreton and Brisbane Naval Depots
By George Franki The name Moreton is synonymous with naval history in southeast Queensland but to date little mention of it appears in our historical records. We trust this small ...
Australian Naval History on 12 September 2016
The last of Navy’s 24 MH60 Romeos was accepted at Nowra’s Aviation Technology Park ...
Occasional Paper 1: Battle of Australia Day Commemoration
By Commander Rebecca Jeffcoat, RAN Sydney 07 Sep 16 Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, First I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people, the Traditional Custodians of this Land on ...
Japanese Surrender Signing On USS Missouri (1945)
This footage is of Japans formal surrender to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II. The surrender ceremony was conducted in Tokyo Bay on board USS Missouri 2 ...
Letter: Searching for a photograph of CMDR J. M. Jackson, RN
The NHR dated December 2015 contained an article by Leyland Wilkinson on the remarkable sixteen years that CMDR J.M. Jackson, RN served on the Australia Station and lamented the lack ...
Letter: River Cruises and the Big River
Two letters have been received in response to Leyland Wilkinson’s article on ‘River Cruises and the Big River’. These important contributions are from officers with first-hand experience of navigating far ...
Book Review: United and Undaunted – the First 100 Years 1911-2011
United and Undaunted – the First 100 Years 1911-2011, by E. W. Linton and H. J. Donohue. Grinkle Press, Canberra, 2015. 376 pages, illustrated, with appendices and index. Cost $70 ...
Chief Petty Officer WILLIAM HENRY NYE
As related by his grandson William Douglas Nye We were recently contacted by William Douglas (Doug) Nye regarding some family papers which his grandmother had kept but were no longer ...
The Whitsunday Tragedy
By Allan Miles Whenever a tragedy happens resulting in the lives of young Australians who have chosen a career in service of this country, it is a great loss. Such ...
Who was Jose?
By Walter Burroughs The Bean Connection Most Australians interested in military history will have heard of Charles Bean, the war correspondent with a later responsibility for compiling and editing the ...
Operation DAMASK: RAN Operations Against Iraq During The Gulf War
By SBLT Nathan Willrow, RAN Following completion of secondary education at Melbourne High School Nathan gained entry to the University of Melbourne where he graduated as a Bachelor of Science ...
Simply a Question of Duty: A Coastwatcher in North Australia Part 2: Coastwatching on Groote Eylandt during WWII
By John Harris Japan’s sudden entry into WWII, threatening the whole Pacific region, galvanised Naval Intelligence into immediate action to formalise and expand the old pre-war Coastwatcher program in coastal ...
HMAS Melbourne in WWI – a Diarist’s Perspective
By Kingsley Perry George Henry Iles was born at Norwood, Surrey on 11 December 1883 and later joined the Royal Navy where he became a cook. On 14 October 1912 ...
HMS Vanguard– The Battleship That Never Arrived
By Alf Batchelder On 6 March 1948, the Melbourne Argus reported that ‘…never before in modern times has the sea-going strength of the Royal Navy been so low.’ After recent ...
Bill Boas and the Waree
Cyril Maurice (Bill) Boas was born on 10 December 1899 at Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, in southern India. He was the first of four children born to Captain John and ...
Ships, clocks & stars – interview with curator Richard Dunn
Curator Richard Dunn from the Royal Museums Greenwich discusses some of the highlights of Ships, Clocks & Stars. The exhibition offers visitors the rare chance to see the extraordinary nautical ...
Letter: The Australia Station
An email was received from John Redman. I read the current (December edition) Naval Historical Review with great interest, an excellent publication. Not wanting to be pedantic but I suppose ...
Letter: Admiral John Gore at Lake Bathurst and Goulburn
Dear Sir, Many thanks for your delightful article on ‘John Gore of Lake Bathurst’ – NHR September 2015. You mentioned James Hassall and the lineage of that pioneer Anglican family. ...
Letter: SMS Kometat the Witu Islands
Dear Editor I enjoyed the story The Witu Islands – Were they the Wolf’s Lair in the September 2015 edition of the ‘Review’. This led me to look up an ...
River Cruises and the Big River
By Leyland Wilkinson There are many rivers in the world with clear access from the open sea for ocean going vessels, and over the years units of the Royal Australian ...
Japanese surrender at the end of World War II
By Mike Turner A bombing/mining blockade campaign against mainland Japan in 1945 was very successful. By June Japan recognised that she was defeated, and all she could do was negotiate ...