• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Naval Historical Society of Australia

Preserving Australia's Naval History

  • Events
  • Account
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • Show Search
  • 0 items
Hide Search
Menu
  • Home
  • Research
    • Where to start
      • Research – We can help!
      • Self help
      • Naval Service Records
      • Library
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Resources
      • Articles
      • Videos
      • On This Day
      • Podcasts
      • Australian Military Ship Losses
      • RAN events on a  Google Earth Map
      • RAN Vessels – Where are they now?
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Other
      • Newsletters: Call The Hands
      • Occasional Papers and Historical Booklets
      • Books
      • HMAS Shropshire
      • Book reviews
    • Close
  • Naval Heritage Sites
    • World Heritage Listings
      • Cockatoo Island
    • National Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites
      • HMVS Cerberus
    • Commonwealth Heritage Listings
      • Garden Island NSW
      • HMAS Watson
      • HMAS Penguin
      • Spectacle Island Explosives Complex NSW
      • Chowder Bay Naval Facilities
      • Beecroft Peninsula NSW
      • Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications
      • HMAS Cerberus
      • Naval Offices QLD
      • Garden Island WA
      • Royal Australian Naval College ACT
      • Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT
    • NSW Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Rushcutter
    • Close
  • Naval Art
  • Tours & Cruises
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, East
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, West
    • Anniversary Cruise: Sydney under Japanese Attack
    • Tour Bookings
    • Close
  • About us
    • About Us
      • What we do
      • Our People
      • Office Bearers
      • Become a volunteer
      • Our Goals and Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Victoria Chapter
      • WA Chapter
      • ACT Chapter
    • Close
  • Membership
  • Shop
  • Become a volunteer
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Postcasts / HMAS Armidale

HMAS Armidale

Webmaster · May 29, 2023 ·

Craig Monahan, Australian film maker

This podcast on the wartime sinking of HMAS Armidale and the subsequent search for survivors is an epic of leadership and resourcefulness that was little known some 50 years after WWII owing to a veil of secrecy over the security classification of the ships mission.

Inspired by the story of Armidale in the 1980s, Craig embarked upon a mission to find and interview as many of the survivors as possible, recording each account for posterity. Years of searching official records was, to put it mildly, difficult but gradually, the true story of the mission to land allied Dutch Army troops in Timor was revealed and the role of the RAN, RAAF and AIF personnel became clearer.

The story of the sinking of Armidale was in truth just the beginning of one of the most incredible feats of human endurance and survival in Australian military history. The men who survived the sinking were amazing in their determination to salvage what wreckage they could and though with very little in the way of rations and water, their ingenuity helped many survive a vicious machine gun strafing from their attacker’s aircraft and then seek rescue.

The podcast highlights much of the search being conducted from Darwin, itself being attacked almost daily from Japanese aircraft. Scarce resources from the RAAF and RAN were tasked and performed brilliantly in what was a search for a needle in a watery haystack and in areas dominated by enemy aircraft and superior strength in warships.

Leadership and the courage to overcome fearsome odds – sharks, poisonous sea snakes, hunger, thirst, the sun – is brought to life by the survivor personal accounts that are frank and indeed brutal. Split into three groups, the raft, a whaler, and the motorboat, all heavily damaged and literally sinking, their story is truly extraordinary. The motorboat was rescued after being at sea five days, the whaler after an incredible eight days. As for those left on the raft at the scene of the sinking, although they were spotted and a very famous photograph of them was taken, they were never seen again.

The podcast has an introduction from Vice Admiral Mike Noonan who supported this project whilst still serving as Chief of Navy and Craig Monahan who has managed this entire project on a not-for-profit basis (funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs) and deserves high praise for this revealing epic of history.

More episodes

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

Latest Podcasts

  • The Fall of Singapore
  • HMAS Armidale
  • Napoleon, the Royal Navy and Me
  • The Case of the Unknown Sailor
  • Night of the midget subs — Sydney under attack

Links to other podcasts

Australian Naval History Podcasts
This podcast series examines Australia’s Naval history, featuring a variety of naval history experts from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere.
Produced by the Naval Studies Group in conjunction with the Submarine Institute of Australia, the Australian Naval Institute, Naval Historical Society and the RAN Seapower Centre

Life on the Line Podcasts
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories.
These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher.

Video Links

  • Australian War Memorial YouTube channel
  • Royal Australian Navy YouTube Channel
  • Research – We can help!
  • Naval Heritage Sites
  • Explore Naval Art
  • Dockyard Heritage Tour
  • About us
  • Shop
  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Members Area
  • Privacy Policy

Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. Copyright © 2025