By John Smith When naval training establishments were first introduced on home soil the system of entry into the Royal Australian Navy closely followed Royal Naval traditions. From the first ...
Royal Australian Navy
An Interesting Naval Family
By John Smith John Clement McFarlane was born in Melbourne in 1887, his forebears having arrived there in 1838. At some stage, he joined the Royal Navy as a sailor ...
Occasional Paper 130: Our First Fleet Commander – Admiral Sir George Patey
By Walter Burroughs A summary of this paper was presented at a conference held from 30 September to 01 October 2014 at the Universidad Andres Bello, Chile on the maritime ...
The Importance of Defence Strategy following the Battle of Sunda Strait
By Sub-Lieutenant G. Bateman, RAN Garry Bateman was born in Plymouth on 23 July 1980. His father was a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy serving in submarines. This ...
William Creswell – What Maketh the Man
Age of Change It was the age of change when centuries old maritime practice collided with the industrial revolution. Over two millennia past and more, man had conquered the great ...
One King, One Fleet, One Nation?
By Lindsey Shaw Lindsey Shaw is a former Senior Curator at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Committee Member of the Naval Historical Society and Member of the Board of Directors ...
Book Review: Lost – The stories of all ships lost by the Royal Australian Navy.
Lost: The stories of all ships lost by the Royal Australian Navy. Written and published by Allen Lyne in Adelaide, 2013. ISBN 980-0-646-90375-0 in soft cover, 305 pages with plentiful ...
The Great Depression and the Navy
The worldwide Global Financial Crisis which originated in the United States in 2007 and the Australian reaction to it is still fresh in most peoples’ minds. The description of the ...
The First Hundred Years
Australasian Naval Forces and Commonwealth Naval Forces
Developing Australian Naval Forces
Developing Australian Naval Forces
In celebrating the centenary of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) we should recognise the RAN was born at a most turbulent time in our recent history. The turn of ...
Book Review: The Royal Australian Navy – a History
The Royal Australian Navy – a History Edited by David Stevens, published by Oxford University Press. First published in 2001 as a hardback version, reprinted several times and so well ...
Book Review: Summary & Review – RAN in WW2
Title: Summary and Review of the RAN War Effort and Activities September 1939 to August 1945 Publisher: Naval Historical Society of Australia (Inc) [Ed: The Society recently published this book] ...
Australian Government releases RFT for Patrol Boats
The Australian Government has released a Request for Tender (RFT) for a replacement fleet to the Royal Australian Navy Patrol Boats that provide the frontline of Australia’s defences against people ...
Obituary: Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot KBE AO (1922-2001)
Born at Corowa, NSW and educated at Geelong Grammar School. Anthony Synnot joined the RAN as a cadet midshipman in 1939 as a Special Entry and trained in Britain with Prince ...
Book Review: Southern Trident
Title: Southern Trident: Strategy, History and the Rise of Australian Naval Power Publisher: Allen and Unwin The general reader should not be deterred by the sub-title which implies it is ...
Book Review: Nothing to do with me, I’m Radar!
Title: Nothing to do with me, I’m Radar! Author: P.R.H. (Lofty) Watson Publisher: Self-published On the inside cover, this book describes itself as “a segment of Royal Australian Navy history, covering ...
Book Review: Bombers and Battleships
Letters – Australians at Zeebrugge
In the last issue of the Review you published my request for information regarding R.A.N. participation in the raid on Zeebrugge in 1918. Lieutenant Colonel John Bullen of Canberra was ...
Rear Admiral Sir Henry Wilfred Eldon Manisty KCB CMG RN
“… a really capable officer,” NHR Vol. 17 No. 3 1996 (September 1996). I have long considered that the contribution made by Staff Paymaster (later Fleet Paymaster) Eldon Manisty RN, ...
Letters: Harmony at sea
The article in the last issue of N.H.R. Vol. 17, No. 4, (Harmony at Sea) (December 1996) about the employment of women sailors at sea (R.A.N.) was not only revealing ...
1901-1910 Parliament Debates on Financing Australia’s Navy
Harmony at Sea
A copy of an unidentified magazine article came to our notice some weeks ago. It was headed “The Royal Navy”, and dealt with many facets of that Service in a ...