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- Obituaries
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- RAN Ships
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- Publication
- June 2025 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
John was much the same age as me entering this world as a wartime babe in 1942. He was the last of three sons born to Richmond and Joan Jeremy. Following his formal education John entered an unusual career path into the shipbuilding industry. Dr. Richmond Jeremy was a successful consultant physician with a practice in Macquarie Street and a family home at nearby Rushcutters Bay.
As John tells the story his father happened to meet a friend, Rear Admiral Alec Doyle, and described his son’s obsession with ships. “Send him to Cockatoo to see Hutch” was the Admiral’s suggestion. Dr Jeremy contacted Captain Hutchinson the Managing Director of Cockatoo Dockyard and in due course John was granted an interview.
Young John then spent his working life at Cockatoo Island, beginning in 1960 as an apprentice ship draughtsman and then qualifying as a naval architect at the University of New South Wales. He held a number of positions in the planning and technical area before being appointed Technical Director of the company in 1976. In 1978 he took responsibility for all production activities, and was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Cockatoo Dockyard from 1981 until it closed in 1991.
Busy life
John was a busy person. He was a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (Australia), a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and a Member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. He was a past President of the Australian Division of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, a Vice President of the Navy League of Australia and a Vice President of the Naval Historical Society of Australia. He was also a past National President of the Metal Trades Industry Association.
John extensively researched the history of the dockyard on Cockatoo Island and his first book, Cockatoo Island: Sydney’s Historic Dockyard, was published by the University of New South Wales Press in 1998 running to a second edition in 2005. A further four books on shipbuilding at Cockatoo Island followed, and Safe To Dive: Submarines at Cockatoo Island 1914 to 1991, was reprinted in 2023.
For recreation John liked nothing more than messing about in small boats. He was a keen yachtsman and a past Commodore of the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club and a member of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. He was Chairman of the Australia Day Regatta Management Committee.
In addition, John found time to be a member of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, a Council Member of the Australian Register of Historic Vessels, and a Life Member of the Australian National Maritime Museum.
He also edited the quarterly Australian Naval Architect which benefitted from his great store of excellent maritime photographs. John had “presence” and blessed with a fine voice he was often called upon as a speaker, whether these be small clubs or international conferences. He gave of his time freely to many causes which included his beloved Institute of Naval Architects where he mentored many young careers.
In the 2015 Australia Day Honours List, John Jeremy was awarded Membership of the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant service to the preservation and celebration of naval and maritime history.
John and the Royal Australian Navy
Through his association with shipbuilding and ship repair John built up an enormous amount of knowledge of surface vessels and submarines operated by the Royal Australian Navy. Not only did he know ships, but he also knew and cultivated valuable contacts with navy personnel, and he was always helpful in resolving the many difficult issues that can arise during complex building and repair tasks.
John took great pride in the care and precision required to construct a ship, noting HMAS Vampire was built when he first started at the island and is still afloat at Darling Harbour, and HMAS Success the last in a line of some 290 ships built at Cockatoo.
In later years his association with the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Sydney Harbour Heritage Trust and his wide circle of friends and associates were a welcome source of benefit to naval interests and especially to those of the Naval Historical Society of Australia (NHSA). The NHSA gained a Vice President, but also a charming ambassador of extraordinary ability.
The man we knew and loved
John obviously had a fascination for ships and liked nothing better than a good yarn with similar minded people on just about any maritime topic. With a sound background in naval architecture and practical experience in shipbuilding he had a great font of knowledge and enjoyed lively debate. To change the subject, we would then talk about the perils of country living, and getting stuck in the mud, at his shack, on 40 acres at Tarago, south of Goulburn.
John Christopher Jeremy AM passed away on 18 April 2025. He was a bright star who illuminated many lives – we shall miss him.
Prepared by Walter Burroughs