By Hector Donohue Commander Guy Alexander Beange DSC RAN served with the Royal New Zealand Navy Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War and trained as a Fleet Air Arm ...
Commander Guy Alexander Beange DSC RAN
The Solomon Islands Part 2: from WWII to Present
This article forms part of a trilogy covering the history of the Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island. Part 1, discussing the Solomon Islands from European discovery to the Second World War, ...
Exmouth Gulf – Submariners’ Haven
By Colin Randall Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia In 1618, the Dutch East India Company ship Mauritius, under command of Willem Janszoon, landed near North West Cape and named Willem’s River, ...
The HMAS Parramatta Memorials
In this our 50th year it is well to reflect on some of the more important projects undertaken by the Society and none is perhaps more worthy than conceiving a ...
A Tribute to Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean VC RANR
After many years of failure to gain recognition for the heroic deeds performed by Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean, the posthumous award of his Victoria Cross came as a sudden but ...
Occasional Paper 98: Life Line- the Rescue of Tony Bullimore
The rescue of yachtsmen in the Southern Ocean has been headline news on several occasions in recent decades. Of particular interest was the rescue of Tony Bullimore in January 1997. ...
Occasional Paper 97: The Lost Patrol
By Eric Deshon The following story was first published in the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) Volunteers’ Quarterly newsletter ‘All Hands’, Issue 103 in June 2018. It is based on ...
Occasional Paper 96: RAN Encounters with Papua New Guinea’s Big Rivers
By David Michael The passing of Commodore Sam Bateman RAN, (Rtd) in October 2020 reminded many people of his Command of the PNG based patrol boat, HMAS Aitape and its ...
Occasional Paper 95: Grandfather was a cableman
By Fairlie Clifton Fairlie Clifton is a long-term member of the Naval Historical Society and foundation member of the Australian National Maritime Museum where she volunteers as a guide. Her ...
Occasional Paper 94: Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie (Mac) Jesse Gregory RAN (Ret): 9 February 1922-27 August 2014
By Rex Williams, President Victorian Chapter of the NHSA As President since 2003 and active member during the period Mackenzie (Mac) Gregory was at the helm, Rex grew to love ...
Occasional Paper 93: Boxing in the Navy
By John Smith John Smith, our senior researcher, joined the RAN College in 1946 and retired as a Commander having specialised in gunnery. He served in many RAN ships and ...
Occasional Paper 92: First Royal Australian Navy Victoria Cross: Ordinary Seaman Edward “Teddy” Sheean.
By Dr John K Haken The Victoria Cross for Australia continues the traditions of the Imperial Victoria Cross as our highest award for bravery. Like several other Commonwealth countries, Australia ...
Occasional Paper 91: Invidious Choices – The German East Asia Squadron and the RAN in the Pacific, August to December 1914
By Lieutenant Commander Desmond Woods RAN This paper was first published by the Australian Naval Institute online and in an abbreviated form the by the UK Naval Review and by ...
Book Review: Radio Girl
Radio Girl. By David Dufty. Allen and Unwin, Sydney 2020. Paperback of 301 pages. rrp $29.99. ISBN 978 1 76087 665 4 This biographical work details the life of Violet ...
Book Review: Wyatt Earp – The Little Ship with Many Names
Wyatt Earp: The Little Ship with Many Names. By Trish Burgess. Connorcourt Publishing, Cleveland, Queensland. Paperback, 124 pages. rrp $29.95 This book review follows closely in the wake of the ...
Letter: The Palace letters
On 14 July 2020 previously secret correspondence between the then Governor General Sir John Kerr and Her Majesty the Queen was published by the National Archives of Australia 45 years ...
The Dominion Yachtsmen Scheme – Australian Volunteers in the Normandy Landings, June 1944
By Janet Roberts Billett This article follows from Part 1 by the same author on the contribution made by members of the Dominion Yachtsmen Scheme, which appeared in the December ...
Dr Frederick Wheatley, Headmaster and Cryptographer
A new book, Australian Code Breakers by James Phelps, has recently been published on the fascinating topic of wartime code breaking. As the front cover tells us this is the ...
Heart of Oak and Jolly Tars: a short reflection
By John McGrath The refrain of Heart of Oak (yes, it is Heart not Hearts) are our ships, begins: ‘Heart of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men’. ...
Mine warfare roles for Australian Women during the Second World War
By Mike Turner During WWII many Australian women worked in new defence support roles. The mine warfare roles were manning Mine Watching Posts, manufacturing moored mines and manning the RAN ...
An Essay on the Forming of the Royal Australian Navy
By Midshipman Lloyd Skinner Lloyd Skinner attended Melbourne Grammar School, where he discovered a passion for Australian political and military history. Shortly after completing secondary education in 2019 Lloyd joined ...
RFA Bishopdale
By Greg Swinden RFA Bishopdale was a Royal Fleet Auxiliary Dale class freighting tanker that saw service during the period 1939-1959. As a freighting tanker her main role was to ...
The Ephemeral Commission of the Fremantle Naval Volunteers, Western Australia, 1879 – 1888
By Ron and Ian Forsyth New information on the Fremantle Naval Volunteers, the only naval defence force to be established in the Colony of Western Australia, is documented in our ...
MV Ramses – Blockade Runner
By Alan Bourne This paper was prepared by Alan Bourne, son of Herbert (Bill) Thomas Bourne. Herbert was christened Hubert, which he disliked, and he enlisted in the RAN under ...
Chief of Navy grants permission for the Australian White Ensign to fly over the HMAS Sydney (II) Memorial at Geraldton, WA
By LCDR Desmond Woods The HMAS Sydney (II) Memorial at Geraldton in WA has become a place of pilgrimage for 65,000 visitors each year. Some 20,000 arrive by sea on ...