WPN Anzac 2011

25 April 2011

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They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old:Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemnANZAC Day, 25 April, is a special day in Australian history. It marks the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey in 1915. It was here that the Anzac legend was born and, in the subse-quent grim fi ghting, traditions of mateship, courage and perseverence were established as hallmarks of the Australian serviceman.

Most of us know much more about Gallipoli than we do about the Western Front and the Somme bat-tlefi elds and we tend to look on the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign as our country’s fi nest hour. Yet nearly 10 times the number of soldiers fought at the Somme than at Gallipoli, and they fought more than fi ve times as long in equally shocking conditions. The Anzacs fought the Turkish army solidly for more than seven months at Gallipoli and Australia had 50,000 troops engaged there; some were just boy soldiers who lied about their ages to enlist. The number of Aus-tralians killed and wounded (19,000) shocked the nation. Each year on Anzac Day we remind ourselves of these things, and yet on the West-ern Front in Europe, from 1916 un-til the end of the war in November 1918, 500,000 Diggers fought in the trenches of the Somme battlefi elds, sometimes for weeks at a time, up to their knees in mud.

The bodies of nearly 40,000 Aus-

tralians lie in the immaculate war cemeteries in France and Belgium; a further 11,000 have no known grave. More than three times this number were wounded, many of them on more than one occasion. In the years that followed the war, more died from their wounds and the aftermath of being gassed.

While it has been argued that some of the Western Front battles are more worthy of commemoration – battles such as Villers-Bretonneux where the Australians stopped the German ad-vance on Amiens (coincidentally on 25 April 1918, the third anniversary of the Gallipoli landing) or Hamel, or Mont St Quentin – and other people have pressed the cause of signifi cant dates relating to Kokoda or the Battle of the Coral Sea in the Second World War, 25 April has become the day when Australians across the coun-try, pockets of expatriates in far-off nations, and thousands of young pil-grims at Anzac Cove in Turkey and in villages along the Western Front, stop to remember the men and wom-en who served their country. It is the day when we honour all who have served Australia since Federation – from the Boer War to the present confl ict in Afghanistan.

Gallipoli made an immediate im-pact; in 1916 services were held in many towns and cities in Australia, and 2000 troops marched through the streets of London. In the 1920s and

1930s, Anzac Day services were well attended and war memorials sprang up in every country town. With the coming of the Second World War, Anzac Day became a day on which to commemorate the lives of Austral-ians lost in that war as well.

The meaning of the day was sub-sequently broadened to include those killed in all military operations in which our country has been involved.

However by the 1950s Anzac Day was “the one day of the year” of old Diggers drinking and playing two-up to the embarrassment of ris-ing generations. Thirty years later feminists used the annual march to protest against male violence in war, and were banned from marching. The diffi culties of the Vietnam War period and the infl ux of non-Anglo Saxon migrants led some to question whether Anzac Day had a future. And then in the late 1980s there was an in-credible change, with an internation-al resurgence of interest in the First World War and its commemorations. While there were four young “hitch-hikers”, today called backpackers, at Anzac Cove in 1965 when the 300 Gallipoli veterans arrived on a gov-ernment-sponsored trip, more than 30,000 people attended services at Anzac Cove and Lone Pine in 2005.

Anzac Day attendances in Austra-lia have risen, with young people taking a particular interest and want-ing to honour the sacrifi ces of previ-

ous generations. Today relatives of veterans march every 25 April and wear the medals of campaigns past with pride.

Around us in this district there are ample reminders of the Anzac leg-end: apart from the customary war memorials and honour boards, there are streets in Bittern and Crib Point named after Victoria Cross winners, and streets in Bittern named after Western Front battles. Even in Hast-ings we have a number of streets named after Royal Australian Navy

ships. And then there is the memo-rial on Hastings foreshore to George Mawby Ingram, VC.

This special edition of The News provides some information on these reminders; we think it is important that the younger generation is aware of the important legacy handed down from that fi rst Anzac Day, 25 April, 1915.At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.


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By Peter McCulloughABOUT 300,000 Australians volun-teered to serve their country between 1914 and 1918; this from a nation of fewer than fi ve million people. Most saw service on the Western Front: in Belgium (Flanders) or along the Riv-er Somme in France. About 52,000 died and are buried there.

In the postwar years in Australia, whenever a new area was being developed it was common, almost mandatory, to honour our war dead by naming the streets after famous Western Front battles in which Aus-tralians had participated.

The trapezium-shaped area in Bit-tern bordered by South Beach Rd (to the west), Disney St (south), Trafal-gar St (north) and the railway line (east) is fairly typical. However an examination of the names selected by the developer at the time leads one to ask “What was he thinking?”.

There are 11 streets in the sub-division. One (Centre Ave) has geographical rather than historical signifi cance; for the purpose of this exercise we can discard it. Of the re-maining 10 streets, only six relate to battles of some signifi cance and two are of only minor interest to the AIF. Let’s have a look at each in turn.

1. POZIERES STThis is a worthy inclusion in the

developer’s selection. The Somme offensive started early in July 1916 with no signifi cant progress. The key

to the German defences was the vil-lage of Pozieres on the Albert-Bap-aume Rd. The British Major-General Walker decided to use the Austral-ians (1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions) and the New Zealand Division to spear-head the attack on the night of 23 July 1916. The attack was a success but the Germans, recognising the critical importance of the village to their defensive network, attempted to retake Pozieres on 7 August fol-lowing a particularly heavy bom-bardment. The Germans overran the forward Anzac defences, and a wild melee developed from which the Anzacs emerged victorious.

The Anzacs then drove along the ridge towards Mouquet Farm. After heavy fi ghting, they were relieved by the Canadians who captured Mou-quet Farm on 26 September 1916.

In the fi ghting at Pozieres and Mouquet Farm, the Australian di-visions suffered more than 23,000 casualties of which 6741 were killed.

Australia’s most decorated soldier, Captain Albert Jacka of the 4th Divi-sion, who had won the Victoria Cross at Gallipoli, won the Military Cross at Pozieres and another the following year at Bullecourt (see below).

At the conclusion of the war, each of the fi ve Australian divisions was permitted to select an area to erect a memorial to commemorate its achievements; the 1st Division me-morial is at Pozieres.

2. BULLECOURT RDThis, too, is a worthy selection. On

9 April 1917 the British Army start-ed the signifi cant Battle of Arras. It incorporated the smaller battles of Vimy Ridge, which the Canadians commemorate, and Bullecourt, with which the Australians identify.

Four experienced Australian divi-sions (1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th) were part of the British 5th Army under General Sir Hubert Gough, a com-paratively young but energetic com-mander. Gough wanted to attack at Bullecourt to support the British 3rd Army offensive to the north and the French to the south.

The general’s aggressive attitude, coupled with poor planning, resulted in heavy losses. His attack launched at Bullecourt on 11 April 1917 was a disaster. Despite this, a further attack across the same ground was ordered for 3 May. The Australians broke into and took part of the Hindenberg Line but no important strategic ad-vantage was gained; in the two bat-tles the AIF lost 10,000.

In the fi rst battle, Gough employed a dozen tanks, a fairly recent in-novation, to lead the troops with disastrous results: the tanks were destroyed and the soldiers took an instant dislike to them, believing that they only attracted machine gun and artillery fi re. While 3000 were killed or wounded in the fi rst battle of Bul-lecourt, 1170 Australian soldiers

Bittern honours Western Front battles

Total destruction: Above, the ancient Roman road that was the main street of Pozieres in 1914, and, below, the same view two years later.


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were taken prisoner; the largest cap-ture of Austra lian soldiers until the fall of Singapore in 1942.

In front of the Bullecourt church is a memorial to the Australians unique on the Western Front: the focal point is an original slouch hat, bronzed to protect it from the elements.

3. MESSINES RDThis is also an essential selection.

The battle of Messines, fought on 7 June 1917, was the fi rst large-scale action involving Australian troops in Belgium and also marked the entry

of the 3rd Division into a major bat-tle. The major offensive by the Brit-ish, launched on Messines Ridge, south of Ypres, was intended to re-take the areas lost in the First and Second Battles of Ypres. This was an important success for the British Army leading up to the beginning of the Third Battle of Ypres several weeks later.

Since 1915, specialist tunnelling com panies including more than 30,000 men, many Australian, had been digging tunnels under Mess-

ines Ridge and about 500,000kg of explosives had been placed. The First Australian Tunnelling Com-pany had been particularly active at Hill 60 near Ypres since Novem-ber 1916. Occasionally Allied or German miners would dig into an enemy shaft and ferocious hand-to-hand fi ghting would break out in the cramped tunnels.

At 3.10am on 7 June 1917, 19 powerful mines exploded under the German trenches, killing 10,000 Germans. The explosion was appar-

ently heard in London and detected on a seismograph in an observatory on the Isle of Wight. Heavily sup-ported by great volumes of artillery fi re, the troops, commanded by Gen-eral Sir Herbert Plumer, surged for-ward to capture the enemy positions. The 3rd Australian Division, under General John Monash, was anxious to prove itself worthy of the other veteran Australian divisions.

While the older Australian divi-sions were being mauled on the killing fi elds of the Somme, the 3rd Division was always training or in reserve. The veterans were some-what dismissive of the 3rd as a con-sequence, referring to them as “the neutrals”. Accordingly, the 3rd Divi-sion had a point to prove.

It made a successful attack along-side the NZ Division south of Mess-ines village. The other Australian division involved, the 5th, made a follow-up attack later in the day. Although some fi ghting continued, the result was virtually decided by the end of the fi rst evening with the ridge being taken and enemy coun-ter-attacks repulsed.

On 11 July, however, the Germans retaliated with an awful new weapon – mustard gas.

Beginning in late July 1917 and continuing into October, the struggle around Ypres was renewed with the Battle of Passchendaele (technically the Third Battle of Ypres, of which Passchendaele was the fi rst phase). Canadian veterans from the Battle of Vimy Ridge (see below) joined the depleted Anzacs and British forces and took the village of Passchendae-le on 30 October despite extremely

heavy rain and casualties. Both sides lost a combined total of more than 500,000 men in the offensive. Aus-tralians also contributed to the Third Battle of Ypres when they attacked along the Menin Rd and at Poly-gon Wood, so named for its unusual shape It is the site of the memorial to the 5th Division.

Even nowadays, long after hos-tilities ceased, one or two farmers in France and Belgium unearth un-exploded bombs every year, often to their extreme detriment. The resi-dents of Messines are walking on eggshells; according to legend there were 20 mines under the ridge but only 19 exploded. No one is sure where number 20 is located.

4. PERONNE STThis is almost a compulsory in-

clusion. The end of August 1918 found the German troops at their last stronghold at Mont St Quentin over-looking the Somme River and the town of Peronne. Mont St Quentin stood out in the surrounding country, making it a perfect observation post and a vital strategic area to control. General Monash was keen to capture this strategic post and the Australian operation is sometimes regarded as the fi nest achievement of the AIF.

The 2nd Division crossed the Somme on the night of 31 August 1918 and attacked Mont St Quen-tin from the unexpected position to the north-west at 5am. By 7am the Australians had gained the village of Mont St Quentin and fi ve German divisions had become confused and dispersed, or had fl ed. By midnight 31 August, Monash’s troops had taken 14,500 prisoners and 170 guns

Second time: 8th Battalion sentries in the Hindenburg Line (OGI Trench, or old German fi rst line), captured near Bullecourt.


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since 8 August. Allied troops also broke through lines to Peronne by 8.20am on 1 September 1918.

The Germans counter-attacked with much hand-to-hand fi ghting in Peronne. The outnumbered Austra-lians were pushed back but, when re-lief battalions arrived, they regained lost ground but at a cost of 3000 cas-ualties. By the night of 3 September the Australians had secured Peronne.

Private Alex Barclay of 17th Bat-talion was shot in the head by a sniper duting the Mont St Quentin at-tack. Miraculously the bullet passed through his skull and he survived to re-enlist in the Second World War.

The 2nd Division selected Mont St Quentin as the site for their divi-sional memorial. Unveiled in 1925, the memorial was more elaborate than the other four, which are iden-tical stone obelisks. It showed an Aus tralian soldier bayoneting a Ger-man eagle sprawled at his feet. Not surprisingly, it was removed by the Germans when they occupied France in 1940 and was apparently melted down. A less controversial sculpture of a Digger in full kit replaced it in 1971.

5. VIMY STAt this point the puzzlement in Bit-

tern starts. Vimy is six miles north of

Arras, and between 9-12 April 1917 the Canadian Expeditionary Force was heavily engaged with three di-visions of the German 6th Army. It ended when the Canadians took con-trol of the German-held high ground along an escarpment at the northern-most end of the Arras offensive. At the same time the Australians were heavily involved at Bullecourt.

Vimy Ridge is the site of the Cana-dian National Memorial, perhaps the grandest of all battlefi eld memorials.

6. BAPAUME AVEThis is another curious choice.

In mid-March 1917, the German army withdrew from the Somme to

the Hindenberg line. It destroyed Bapaume before withdrawing and the Australians entered with a band playing and without a fi ght on 17 March 1917.

Bapaume was, however, reoccu-pied by the Germans during their big advance of early 1918 and this led to the “second” battle of Bapaume between 21 August and 1 September 1918, which was the second phase of the Battle of Amiens. The town was recaptured by the New Zealanders on 24 August while the Australians were pre-occupied further south tak-ing Mont St Quentin and Peronne.

The Germans left plenty of booby traps for the Australians when they occupied the town after the fi rst “battle”, including a delayed action device that obliterated the Bapaume Town Hall, one of the few build-ings left standing. Unfortunately a number of Diggers had decided that it would be an appropriate place for a rest and the explosion killed 26.

7. ANCRE AVEAt this point it becomes harder to

justify name selection. The Ancre is a river in Picardy that fl ows into the Somme at Corbie. The British 5th Army did fi ght a Battle of An-cre between 13-18 November 1916 as the fi nal act of the Battle of the Somme. The Australians, however, were involved in heavy fi ghting in the area on 27 March 1918 and, as a consequence, the 3rd Division war memorial is located in open coun-try between Sailly-le-Sec and Mer-icourt-L’Abbe, two villages in the Ancre River valley.

8. LILLE STThe magnifi cent view from the

heights of Vimy Ridge (see earlier)is over the wide Douai Plain and the then-great coal mining region of northern France centered on Lille. Clearly seen from the ridge is the fa-mous Double Crassier, a huge twin-peaked slag heap, evidence of the ex-tensive coal mining past in the area. For much of the war the Germans occupied this industrial heartland of France and made use of its natu-ral and human resources. There ap-pears to be no grounds for Lille to be selected as one of the subdivision’s street names.

9. LENS STLens was a small village located

between Vimy Ridge and Lille. It was obliterated during the ebb and fl ow of battle, and there would ap-pear to be no good reason for it to be included as a Western Front bat-tlefi eld town.

10. OSTEND STThis is the fi nal absurdity as the

seaport of Ostend was in German hands for all but the closing stages of the war, and was used as a submarine base. It has no signifi cance as far as Australia is concerned.

So there it is: four street names that merited the honour, two which were borderline, and four that couldn’t re-ally be justifi ed. What of the places that were passed over?

PASSCHENDAELEA major battle for the AIF (see ear-

lier) and the fi nal phase of the vital Third Battle of Ypres. Perhaps it was too hard to spell?

YPRESThe Australians played a sig-

nifi cant role in the fi nal defence of “Wipers”, as they called it. Perhaps

Close call: An Australian transport wagon near German shelling at Messines.


it was too hard to pronounce?VILLERS-BRETONNEUXThe most “Australian” of all the

villages with the Victoria School (paid for with funds donated by Vic-torian school children) and its sign “Do Not Forget Australia”, streets named Victoria and Melbourne, and the Cafe Kangaroo. It was where the Australians stopped the German ad-vance on the already signifi cant day of 25 April 1918, and is the site of the main Australian war memorial. Perhaps it was too cumbersome for a street name?

AMIENSThis was a major railway junction,

just as Lille was for the Germans. To have lost this stronghold during the German spring offensive of March-April would have been catastrophic and underlines the importance of the Australian victory at Villers-Bret-toneux, which is located only 16km to the east.

HAMELIn a meticulous action on 4 July

1918, Monash ensured close co-operation between infantry, tanks, artillery and aircraft in a battle used as a template for British attacks for the rest of the war. Monash intended the battle to take 90 minutes; it took 93! Ironically the attack was carried out by the 4th Division, the very di-vision that had developed an intense dislike of tanks at Bullecourt. This all changed when they were properly deployed at Hamel.

FROMELLESThis was Australia’s initiation to

the horrors of the Western Front. Poorly planned and poorly executed, this “diversion” saw the 5th Divi-sion suffer 5533 casualties in 24

hours. A new cemetery was created at Fromelles in 2010 to inter about 400 Australians who had been buried nearby in a mass grave at Pheasant Wood. Fromelles is also the location of the famous “Cobber” statue. It depicts Sergeant Simon Fraser car-rying a wounded comrade to safety. During one of several trips into no man’s land (disputed territory), Fraser heard a week voice call out “Don’t forget me, cobber.” The ex-pression came to symbolise the bond of mateship that held the Australians together in those terrible days.

HARBONNIERESThis was where Aus tralian soldiers

contribution to the greatest single day’s advance by Allied troops in the entire war – 8 August 1918. It was dubbed “the Black Day” by General Ludendorff and led to German ca-pitulation three months later.

ALBERTAustralians saw a lot of this town

as it was the main British base of op-erations during the Somme battles. Before the war it was a pilgrimage site as the magnifi cent basilica in the main square was topped by a gilded statue of the Madonna holding the baby Jesus to the heavens. By 1916 German artillery had damaged the basilica and the statue was leaning precariously from the tower. For the next two years the “Leaning Virgin” was one of the most iconic land-marks of the Western Front.

One myth, believed by the Brit-ish, was that when the statue eventu-ally fell, the war would end. In fact Bri tish artillery destroyed the tower early in 1918 when the Germans briefl y occupied Albert, but soldiers who saw the fall of the statue were

disappointed – the war ground on for another eight months. Australians fi ghting around Albert thought the leaning statue resembled a swimmer leaving the blocks; with more than a touch of irreverance, they referred to it as “Fanny Durack” who was an Australian swimming champion of that time.

MONTBREHAINThis was the AIF’s fi nal battle in

the closing weeks of the war and was where one-time Hastings resi-dent George Mawby Ingram won his Victoria Cross. It is also the location where the 4th Division has its memo-rial.

It’s hard to believe that the Bittern developer, faced with such a huge range of options, could have chosen so poorly.

Resting easy: Above right, an Australian infantryman uses his .303 rifl e to ease the weight of his pack during a halt in the pursuit of the Germans to the Hindenburg Line early in 1917.

Taking a break: Australian troops from the 54th Battalion man a forward post in Peronne, the day after the town was captured.

“She’s over boys”: Below, the troops assemble beside St Quentin Canal to hear the good news – the end of the war, later called “the war to end all wars”.

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Western Port


Western Port: Before the birth of Anzac

Above: The No. 6 Battery Field Artillery on parade entering High St, Hastings, in 1901. Below: A guard of honour is formed for the returning soldiers.

THE “Ham and Beef” Battery presented quite an impressive sight with its band, bullocks pulling the 40-pounder Armstrong gun

and the soldiers marching. When Captain Ham and Corporals Young and Neaves returned from the Boer War in June 1901, they received

an enthusiastic welcome at Hastings, which was reported in The Mornington Standard (20 June 1901) as “one of the biggest days in the history of

Hastings”. The report reveals that a dozen bullocks were yoked to the 40-pounder gun at the gun shed and the battery, with the band taking the lead,

marched around to the school and the line of procession formed. Taken from Hastings – People and Places Vol II


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JIM DAVIES was born in East Mel-bourne at Berry Street Babies Home and Hospital, which overlooks the MCG. The building is there today.

He grew up in Collingwood and went to Cromwell Street State School, later moving to Abbotsford with his dad James and mum Daphne. He got to know Lou Richards and they played football in the street us-ing a paper football tied with string. Life was very tough in those days.

At 17 he joined the Royal Austra-lian Navy and trained at HMAS Cerberus in Crib Point in 1944-45. He then went to Canberra to Radio Headquarters Receiving Station. He was stationed there for a few months

and then commissioned to HMAS Bataan, a Tribal class destroyer.

On the fi rst day out they ran into a cyclone. After about 10 minutes in the wireless offi ce, he was so sick he had to go off duty.

After about three days he got his sea legs and, although the ship was still rolling, was able to resume his duties. They travelled to Darwin but the ship’s telegrapher went down with peritonitis, and Jim had to stay on board and go to Japan.

After a month he returned to Dar-win and saw the devastation caused by the Japanese bombing. There were 27 ships sunk in the harbour, and many homes and all the hotels except the Darwin Hotel had been bombed.

He then went to Manus Island (north of New Guinea) as a radio op-erator. On the north side of the island the Americans had an army base and were holding war trials of Japanese soldiers. He spent about four months there before returning to Darwin.

This was about 1947-48 and with other navy personnel he was tasked to load three-tonne trucks with old shells to be taken 80 kilometres (50 miles) out of Darwin to be exploded; a hazardous task.

After this he joined HMAS Syd-ney and spent six months in Korea. From 1950 he spent three years on HMAS Australia sailing to Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Guadalcanal and Guam. He contracted dengue fever and after recovering sailed with his

ship around the Solomon Islands and the Philippines.

He returned to Melbourne and met and married Estelle in 1952. He be-came an instructor, teaching groups of 20 to 25 men aged 17-22 years.

Jim returned to sea on HMAS War-ramunga and travelled around the waters near Singapore.

He did a further instruction course and returned to sea on HMAS Venge-ance, on loan from the British Navy to transport troops back to England.

Jim and his wife had a daugh-ter, Karen, in April 1955 and three months later he had to leave them and sail to England,

During the trip Vengeance struck heavy seas with waves 15 metres high (50ft) and winds of 130 knots (240kph or 150mph), which damaged the ship and forced it to be held up in Aden waiting for spare parts.

After Vengeance was repaired they steamed through the Suez Canal and after passing into the Red Sea, nar-rowly missed a tramp steamer on auto pilot making straight for them.

Crossing the Mediterranean they stopped in Naples, Italy, and arrange-ments were made for any Roman Catholic crew members to have an audience with the Pope. Some trav-elled up the night before to visit Vati-can City and an avenue lined with cafes and hotels.

They called in to a cafe for a beer and discovered it was owned by an Australian from Sydney, who had

been there six years. He offered ac-commodation, and the next day Jim and his mates rejoined with rest of the crew and met the Pope.

“We had two days’ leave so we vis-ited Pompeii and saw the ruins, mum-mifi ed bodies and crumbling houses. It was amazing how advanced they were for their time with their plumb-ing and roadmaking,” Jim recalled.

“The roads were lined with white stones that shone in the night and marked the way for carts to go. There were clay pipes for hot water in the home. One two-storey home there is believed to be the fi rst one ever built. We took a lot of photos.”

The crew rejoined their ship and went on to England via Gibraltar. They were in Plymouth for fi ve days, then left Vengeance and took a train to London.

Jim took 10 days’ leave and went to Europe to visit war graves. He took a ferry to Ostend, hired a car and drove to Passchendaele and its war graves.

He also went to Auschwitz con-centration camp and its notorious gas chambers. Then it was on to Munich for a few steins of beer, and then Switzerland and Berne, the cleanest city he’d ever seen.

Next leg was across the French Alps to Paris, through the Black For-est to Le Havre and then a ferry back to Britain.

In 1953 he was on HMAS Austral-ia and due to pick up King George VI, but unfortunately the king died

before he could make the trip.Jim had a stay in hospital and

was visited by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip and while trying to lie to attention in bed, Prince Phil-lip came over to speak to him. Later, when the Prince again visited Mel-bourne, he remembered Jim from his last visit.

He later sailed on HMAS Mel-bourne through the Red Sea, calling in at Malta and Colombo.

He arrived back in Australia in 1956 and continued teaching at Cer-berus. Jim remarried in 1963, to June, and the couple were together for 43 years until she died in 2007.

In 1965 Jim was drafted to HMAS Swan and went up north to train midshipmen. While there, he took a further course and was assigned to HMAS Voyager in 1966. At the last moment the navy decided to send an-other sailor as Jim was due to leave the navy.

Voyager was sunk by the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and Jim lost his best mate as well as fi ve rat-ings he had trained at Cerberus.

Petty Offi cer Telegraphist Jim Dav-ies retired from the navy in 1966 and joined Channel 9 as a videotape editor where he had a second career lasting 20 years. He worked with all the stars including Graham Kennedy, Bert Newton and Don Lane.

Nowadays Jim lives at Hastings Cove Retirement Village and is a sprightly 84 this week.

Colourful life at sea tinged by tragedy

Decked out: Radio Supervisor Jim Davies in his RAN uniform.


The Back Yard located at A Rose Affair (next to the big boot)167 Moorooduc Hwy, Baxter. Phone: 5971 5051

THEBACKYARD

Cape Cod Chairs - Natural $135White $185

Garden bridge 1700mx650w -

$195 Special

Wheel Barrows Heavy duty

special $110

Colored mulch - red or black

Special 50 litre bag

$7.95

Colored pebbles 10kg bag

$12 per bag

Roses from $10Standard Roses from $15.00

6” Plants - $3.95 Special

6ft Jacaranda trees $29.95

SHEDSTHIS WEEKS SPECIAL

10x10 (3mx3m)

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64 King St Hastings

www.aperiteeth.com.au Email: [email protected]

64 King St Hastings

www.aperiteeth.com.au Email: [email protected]

DENTURE CLINIC Full / Partial Dentures Repairs / Relines Custom Made Mouthguards

Implant OverDentures Victorian Denture Scheme

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The Peace roseIN June of 1939, an international conference of rose hybridisers was held in Lyon, France. When it visited the Meilland fi rm, this was the rose that everyone noticed.

Several months later when the Nazi inva-sion of France seemed imminent, Francis Meilland sent eyes of the plant to rose grow-ers who he knew in Turkey, Germany, Italy, and the United States.

When Robert Pyle of Conard-Pyle received the eyes, he propagated plants, and sent them to the American Rose Society for testing.

In 1944 after France was liberated, Pyle

wrote to Meilland, explaining that he planned to release the plants once the war ended.

He chose the name ‘Peace’ for the name-giving ceremony at the Pacifi c Rose Society annual exhibition on 29 April 1945, the very day that Berlin fell.

That same year, Dr Ray Allen, secretary of the American Rose Society, sent each of the 49 delegations at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco a single, long-stemmed ‘Peace’ rose with the following note: “We hope the ‘Peace’ rose will infl uence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace.”


Easter Trading Hours: Good Friday Closed: Easter Sat 8am-4pm. Easter Sunday & Easter Monday Closed. Easter Tuesday 9am to 3pm.

SHOP 24, CENTRO SHOPPING CENTRE, 49 ERAMOSA ROAD WEST, SOMERVILLE(LAST shop on Graf Road side behind Rivers)

PHONE 5978 0164

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Come and see our comprehensive range of vanities and accessories. Now’s the time to install a heated towel rail! LAY-BY WELCOME

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scooters & skateboards 6 High Street Hastings 5979 7880

scooters & skateboards

Metal 2 Metal makers of Metal Scooter Handle bars is nowopen to the public for all your scooter & skateboard needs.

A visit to DROPIN is a must to view our full range ofcustom-made metal one-piece handlebars available in many

colours. We offer an extensive range of other products including grips, clamps, wheels and grip tape.

Our in-store staff can also assist you with all replacement parts, repairs and maintenance.

Hastings Hobbies

200 Marine Parade, HastingsPh: 5979 8232

special$590

Former military aircraft housed at The Old Aeroplane Company in Tyabb

Australian-built P51 Mustang in 3 Squadron RAAF colours.

American P40F Kitty Hawk. Presently the only fl ying example of this model.

South African Air Force De Havilland Vampire single seat fi ghter/bomber.

New Zealand AT-6C Harvard.

Harvard painted in South African Air Force colours.

Harvard painted in United States Navy colours.


3000 Series Tractor 31.4- to 43.2- horsepower*

It’s a difference you can tell from the moment you sit down — this is not a tractor as usual. Experience the difference with:

– Choice of 31.4- to 43.2- horsepower* (23.4 - 32.2 kW)– Choice of variable transmissions– Two pedal control speed on selected models– Standard power steering– Comfortable operator station

Performance you demand.Comfort you deserve.

Westernport Tractors & ImplementsDealer Contact: Jeff Davies

a 1863 Frankston-Flinders Rd Hastings, VIC. 3915 p (03) 5979 2155

e [email protected]

* The engine horsepower information is provided by the engine manufacturer to be used for comparison purposes only. Actual operating horsepower may be less.


Hastings RSL26 King Street, HastingsPH 5979 1753 Fax: 5979 2836Email: [email protected]: 12 NOON UNTIL LATE

UPCOMING EVENTS

BINGO – every Wednesday12.30pm start, every Sat 2.00pm start

1066 Club – every Thursday10.00am – 3.00pm

2 course meals $12.00 per person

Pick A Card Draw – Thursday (fortnightly)

Big money to be won.

Patto’s Big BreakfastALL YOU CAN EAT $15.00 ADULTS

$5.00 KIDS – 9.00AM – 12.00PM15 May, 12 Jun

RSL Hall for HirePhone us for that special occasion

Xmas In July

ANZAC DAY

From our local RSL, men who servedRobert (Bob) Shepperd former Quartermaster General, Royal Australian NavyBOB was born in Adelaide. His father was a sailor in the Second World War and served with the Royal Australian Navy on various British ships.

Bob had dreams of follow-ing in his father’s footsteps and after a short time as a signwriter, enlisted in the RAN in Adelaide in 1965.

After recruit training at HMAS Cerberus, he joined HMAS Vampire (a Daring class destroyer) and in 1965 escorted HMAS Sydney on her third voyage to Vietnam.

While Sydney was in Vung Tau unloading troops and equipment, HMAS Vampire was sitting on the gun line.

Vampire was then replaced by HMAS Duchess, as the Vampire was required for the Malayan Emergency (Far East Strategic Reserve).

Returning to Sydney, Aus-tralia, Bob was drafted to the aircraft carrier HMAS Mel-bourne in 1967. He did exer-cises off Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila and Thai-land.

Melbourne left Sydney for the United States in Septem-ber 1967 to pick up Skyhawk and Tracker aircraft. Bob was on HMAS Melbourne some years later, after the collision

with HMAS Voyager, when Melbourne collided with the USS Frank E Evans in June 1969. After repairs in Singa-pore and returning to Aus-tralia, Bob drafted off HMAS Melbourne in early January 1970 to HMAS Cerberus where his fi nal duties were at West Head Gunnery range and in security. Bob paid off

from the navy in 1974.Bob is a past president

of Hastings RSL and is a life member of the national branch of the RSL. He is also the recipient of the Pinjat Jasa Malaysia medal. He lives in Hastings with his wife Gabri-elle.As told to Gabe Shepperd, secretary of Hastings RSL.

Gary Taylor, former Engine Room Artifi cer 2nd Class, Royal Australian NavyGARY was born in Port Mel-bourne and as a young boy growing up during the Second World War he would visit Sta-tion Pier to see Allied war-ships and look on in admira-tion at Australian, American and British sailors on the docks and ships.

He decided that when he grew up he was going to be a sailor.

About 25 years later (1967) he had realised his dream and was serving on board HMAS Yarra entering Vung Tau har-bour in Vietnam on Christmas Eve in 1967 and, after sweep-ing through the area, anchored upstream of HMAS Sydney which Yarra had escorted from south of Sunda Strait.

As a young sailor this pe-riod of Gary’s service was an eye opener as to what happens in war.

Numerous Swift and other patrol craft and helicopters patrolled the area, but the servicemen took little notice of the numbers of illegal fi sh-ermen’s sampans among the ships at anchor.

Aboard HMAS Yarra, Gary left Vietnamese waters for Far East Strategic Reserve duties.

He later served on a num-ber of Royal Australian

Navy ships including HMAS Queenbourgh, HMAS Tal-larook, HMAS Tobruk and HMAS Sydney.

Gary left the navy in 1973 and took up a career as a tech-nical school teacher and later as a sessional instructor at HMAS Cerberus.

He was involved in a num-ber of ex-service organisa-

tions as a committee member and volunteer. Gary is now retired and lives with his wife Ellen in Tyabb. He still holds the position of appeals offi cer at Hastings RSL, which at this time of the year keeps him very busy organising the sell-ing of Anzac Day tokens.As told to Gabe Shepperd, secretary of Hastings RSL.


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WHILE not a great deal is known about the development of Bittern and Crib Point, it is obvious that the area was subdivided after the First World War.

The developers sought to honour those who had served in the war by the names they gave the streets and troads.

Many streets in the two towns are named af-ter Victoria Cross recipients, which was done to honour their sacrifi ce in the “Great War”.

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration and is awarded for valour “in the face of the enemy” to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories.

It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and to civilians under military command.

In the United Kingdom, it is usually pre-sented to the recipient or to their next of kin by the British monarch at an investiture held at Buckingham Palace.

In countries other than Britain where the monarch is the head of state, the Governor-General usually presents the medal.

The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War.

Since then, the medal has been awarded 1356 times to 1353 individuals. Only 13 med-als – nine to members of the British Army, and four to the Australian Army – have been awarded since the Second World War.

The traditional explanation of the source of the gunmetal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannons captured at the siege of Sevastopol.

Recent research has thrown doubt on this

story, suggesting a variety of origins for the material from which the medals are made.

A single company of jewellers, Hancocks of London, has been responsible for the produc-tion of every Victoria Cross awarded since its inception

Due to its rarity, the VC is highly prized.Listed on following pages are 21 streets in

Bittern and Crib Point named after Victoria Cross winners and a brief biography.

Streets named after Victoria Cross recipients

Sergeant Maurice Vincent BuckleyBorn 13 April 1891, Hawthorn, VicOn 18 September 1918, at Le Verguier near St. Quentin, Buckley’s battalion set off behind a creeping barrage and cleared several enemy outposts, two of which fell to Buckley’s Lewis gun. When a fi eld gun held up one company, he rushed towards it, shot the crew and raced under machine gun fi re across open ground to put a trench mortar out of action. He then fi red into an enemy dug-out and captured 30 Germans. By the end of the day he had rushed at least six machine gun positions, captured a fi eld gun and taken nearly 100 prisoners.

BUCKLEY ST Bittern

Lieutenant Arthur Seaforth BlackburnBorn 25 November 1892, Woodville, SAOn 23 July 1916, at Pozières, France, Black-burn was directed with 50 men to drive the enemy from a strong point. By great determi-nation he captured 250 yards of trench, after personally leading four separate parties of bombers against it, many of whom became casualties. Then after crawling forward with a sergeant to reconnoitre, he returned, attacked again, and seized another 120 yards of trench to establish communications with the battalion on his left.

BLACKBURN ST Bittern


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BURTON AVE BitternCorporal Alexander BurtonBorn 20 Jan 1893 Kyneton, VicOn 9 August 1915, at Lone Pine, Gallipoli, the enemy made a determined counter-attack on a newly captured trench held by Lieuten-ant Tubb, Corporals Burton, Dunstan and a few men. They advanced up a trench and blew in a sandbag barricade, but Tubb and the two cor-porals repulsed the enemy and rebuilt the bar-ricade. Strong enemy bombing parties twice again succeeded in blowing in the barricade, but on each occasion the enemy were repulsed and the barricade rebuilt, although Tubb was wounded and Corporal Burton killed while most gallantly building up the parapet under a hail of bombs. His body was never recovered.

HAMILTON ST Bittern & Crib PointPrivate John HamiltonBorn 24 January, 1896, Orange, NSWOn 9 August, during a heavy bomb attack by the enemy on the newly captured posi-tion at Lone Pine, Private Hamilton, with utter disregard of personal safety, exposed himself under heavy fi re on the parados [rear side of a trench] in order to secure a better fi ring position against the enemy’s bomb-throwers. His coolness and daring example had an immediate effect. The de-fence was encouraged and the enemy driv-en off with heavy loss.

COOKE ST BitternPrivate Thomas CookeBorn 5 July 1881, Marlborough, New Zealand

On 24/25 July 1916 at Pozières, France. For most conspicuous bravery. After a Lewis gun had been disabled, he was ordered to take his gun and gun-team to a dangerous part of the line. Here he did fi ne work, but came under very heavy fi re, with the result that fi nally he was the only man left. He still stuck to his post and continued to fi re his gun. When assistance was sent he was found dead be-side his gun. He set a splendid example of determi-nation and devotion to duty.

DARTNELL CL Bittern & Crib PointTemporary Lieutenant William Thomas DartnellBorn 6 April 1885 , Collingwood, VIC

On 3 September 1915, near Maktau, Kenya, during a mounted infantry engagement, the en-emy were so close that it was impossible to get the more severely wounded away. Lieutenant Dartnell, who was himself being carried away wounded in the leg, seeing the situation, and knowing that the enemy’s black troops mur-dered the wounded, insisted on being left be-hind, in the hope of being able to save the lives of other wounded men. He gave his own life in a gallant attempt to save others.


We want YOU and YOUR FAMILY and FRIENDS to have the dental care you need at the most affordable rates in the area.

We welcome EPC patients, Victorian emergency voucher, teen voucher, Victorian denture scheme and Veteran affair patients.

9am - 5pm Monday to Friday

AFFORDABLE DENTISTShop 4, 1065 Frankston-Flinders Rd

SOMERVILLE

5977 8830

CRIB POINT MEDICAL CENTRE337 Stony Point Rd

CRIB POINT

5983 0022

TOORADIN SUPER CLINIC110 South Gippsland Highway

TOORADIN

5998 3140

WE WANT YOU TO MAKE AFFORDABLE DENTIST AS YOUR PREFERRED DENTIST.

Make sure you bring your health fund card with you to each visit.

We claim your refund electronically ON THE SPOT allowing you to only pay

the gap with cash or credit card.

If you need help with finance for more involved treatment,

please contact the clinic.

NOT IN A FUND?Here’s some great news!

Our fees are 20 - 40% LESS than other dentists because of our efficient practice management systems.

We do the hard work to make sure you get the benefits!

Whether you have dental insurance or not, isn’t it good to know that as a patient of this practice, you will enjoy

BUDGET RATES?

SIMPLY CALL US TO BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT OR FOR MORE

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Like so many patients who have chosen us, we hope you will give us the opportunity to provide you

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BAXTER MEDICAL DENTAL COSMETIC CLINIC57 Baxter-Tooradin Rd BAXTER

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HOWELL ST Crib PointCorporal George Julian HowellBorn 19 November 1893, Enfi eld, NSW

On 6 May 1917 at Bullecourt, Germans launched a general counter-attack using fl ame-throwers causing the 3rd Brigade to withdraw from its trenches. Howell notifi ed battalion headquarters that the battalion to his right was retiring. The 1st Battalion commander then hurriedly organised a group to resist the enemy assault and a fi erce bombing fi ght ensued. Howell, fearing that the enemy would outfl ank his battalion, climbed on to the top of the parapet and bombed the enemy, forcing them back along the trench. When his bombs ran out Howell continued to pursue the enemy with his bayo-net but as he was exposed to heavy bomb and rifl e fi re it was not long before he was severely wounded.

JACKA ST Bittern & Crib PointCaptain Albert JackaBorn 10 January 1893, Layard, VICFor most conspicuous bravery on the night of 19–20 May 1915, at Courtney’s Post, Gallipoli Peninsula. Lance Corporal Jacka, while holding a portion of our trench with four men, was heavily attacked. When all except himself were killed or wounded, the trench was rushed and occupied by seven Turks. Lance Corporal Jacka at once most gallantly at-tacked them single-handed and killed the whole party, fi ve by rifl e fi re and two with the bayonet.

ALBERT JACKA was born on 10 January 1893 at Layard in Victoria. He completed primary school before work-ing as a labourer, fi rst with his father and then with the State Forests Department.

He enlisted in the Austral-ian Imperial Force on 18 September 1914 as a private in the 14th Battalion. After training in Egypt, Jacka’s bat-talion landed at Gallipoli on 26 April 1915.

After Gallipoli, the 14th Bat talion was shipped to France, where, at Pozières in August 1916 and at Bul-lecourt in 1917 he won the Military Cross and a bar to that award. The Australian offi cial historian, Charles Bean, described his actions at Pozières, during which

he recaptured a section of trench, freed a group of re-cently captured Australians and forced the surrender of about 50 Germans, as “the most dramatic and effective act of individual audacity in the history of the AIF”. He was severely wounded dur-ing the action and was hit by a sniper’s bullet in July 1917. On each occasion he returned to the front. In May 1918 he received the wound that end-ed his combat career during a German gas bombardment near Villers-Bretonneux.

Jacka returned to Australia in September 1919. Greeted by a large crowd on his return, Jacka was described in one newspaper as “the symbol of the spirit of the ANZACs”. He married in 1921 and he

and his wife later adopted a daughter. In 1929 Jacka was elected to the St Kilda Coun-cil, becoming mayor the fol-lowing year. His political ca-reer was characterised by his strong interest in assisting the unemployed.

When Jacka’s health began to deteriorate, he was admit-ted to Caul fi eld Military Hos-pital, in December 1931, and died of kidney disease the following month.

More than 6000 people fi led past his coffi n as it lay in state. His funeral proces-sion, fl anked by thousands of onlookers, was led by 1000 returned soldiers and the cof-fi n was carried by eight VC winners. Jacka was buried with full military honours in St Kilda cemetery.

JENSEN CT Crib PointPrivate Joergen Christian JensenBorn 15 January 1891, Loegstoer, Denmark

On 2 April 1917 at Noreuil, France, Private Jensen, with fi ve comrades, attacked a barricade behind which were about 45 of the enemy and a machine-gun. One of the party shot the gunner and Private Jensen rushed the post and threw in a bomb. Then, with a bomb in each hand, he threatened the rest and made them surrender. He sent one of his prisoners to another group of the enemy, ordering them to surrender, which they did, but our troops began fi ring on them, where-upon Private Jensen, regardless of danger stood on the barricade waving his helmet, and the fi ring stopped. He then sent his prisoners back to our lines.


Westernport HotelServing up great hospitality since the 1800s

great food... good times... unbeatable value!CNR HIGH & SALMON STREET, HASTINGS. PHONE 5979 1201

MURRAY ST Crib PointLieutenant Colonel Henry William MurrayBorn 1 December 1880, Launceston, Tas

On 4–5 February 1917 at Gueudecourt, France. For most conspicuous bravery when in command of the right fl ank company in attack. He led his company to the assault with great skill and courage, and the position was quickly captured. Fighting of a very severe nature followed, and three heavy counter-attacks were beaten back, these suc-cesses being due to Captain Murray’s wonderful work. Throughout the night his company suffered heavy casu-alties through concentrated enemy shell fi re, and on one occasion gave ground for a short way. This gallant offi cer rallied his command and saved the situation by sheer val-our. He made his presence felt throughout the line, encour-aging his men, heading bombing parties, leading bayonet charges, and carrying wounded to places of safety.

LEAK ST BitternPrivate John LeakBorn probably in 1892, Portsmouth, England

On 23 July 1916 at the Battle of Pozières, France, he was one of a party which fi nally captured an enemy strong point. At one assault, when the enemy’s bombs were outranging ours, Private Leak jumped out of the trench, ran forward under heavy machine gun fi re at close range, and threw three bombs into the enemy’s bombing post. He then jumped into the post and bayonetted three unwounded enemy bombers. Later, when the enemy in overwhelming numbers was driv-ing his party back, he was always the last to withdraw at each stage, and kept on throwing bombs. His cour-age and energy had such an effect on the enemy that, on the arrival of reinforcements, the whole trench was recaptured.

LOWERSON CL Crib PointSergeant Albert David LowersonBorn 2 August 1896, Myrtleford, Vic

On 1 September 1918 at Mont St Quentin, France, Lowerson was with a company which advanced on the right of the village, where it encountered extremely heavy fi re. Troops on the left of the advance were pinned down by a heav-ily manned post which contained 12 machine guns. Lowerson then organised a storming party of seven men and led a charge against the strong point which succeeded in capturing 12 machine guns and 30 men. Although he was wounded in the right thigh, Lowerson organised the consoli-dation of the post and disposal of prisoners.

KENNY ST Crib PointPrivate Thomas James Bede KennyBorn 29 September 1896, Paddington, Sydney, NSW

On 9 April 1917, at Hermies, France, Kenny’s platoon had to dig in on the edge of the village and engage any enemy attempting to leave. Several men were pinned down by heavy enemy fi re before Kenny leapt up and rushed a post, throwing bombs as he ran. Although the fi rst two missed, Kenny’s third bomb landed in the mid-dle of the Germans, killing some, while the rest became prisoners. His action made a signifi cant contribution to the capture of the village.


The Anzac Figurines Collection

by “Silent Soldiers”by “Silebby “Sib ers”ieers”

Mother’s Day27-35 Milne Street, Crib Point

Ph: 5983 9655

CRIB POINT RSL

ANZAC DAY

10am Meet at Club Rooms10.40am Parade Fall In10.45am March off to Cenotaph11am Service Commences

On completion of service, everyone welcome back to

Crib Point RSL for refreshments and fellowship

SADLIER CT Crib PointLieutenant Clifford William King SadlierBorn 11 June 1892, Camberwell, Vic

On 24-25 April 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux, France, Lieutenant Sadlier’s platoon had to advance through a wood where a strong enemy machine gun post was causing casualties and preventing the advance. Al-though he was himself wounded, Lieutenant Sadlier at once collected his bombing section and led them against the machine guns, killing the crews and cap-turing two of the guns. By this time his party were all casualties and alone he attacked a third enemy ma-chine gun with his revolver, killing the crew and tak-ing the gun. In doing so, he was again wounded.The very gallant conduct of this offi cer was the means of clearing the fl ank, and allowing the battalion to move forward, thereby saving a most critical situation.

SHOUT ST BitternCaptain Alfred ShoutBorn 7 August, 1881, Wellington, NZ

On the morning of 9 August 1915 at Lone Pine, Gallipoli. With a small party, Captain Shout charged down trenches strongly oc-cupied by the enemy, and personally threw four bombs among them, killing eight and routing the remainder. In the afternoon he captured a further length of trench and continued personally to bomb the enemy at close range, under very heavy fi re, until he was severely wounded, losing his right hand and left eye. He succumbed to his in-juries.

PEELER CL Crib PointLance Corporal Walter PeelerBorn 9 August 1887, Barker’s Creek, Vic

On 4 October 1917 Battle of Broodseinde. When Peeler en-countered an enemy party sniping the advancing troops from a shell-hole, L./Cpl. Peeler immediately rushed the position and accounted for nine of the enemy, and cleared the way for the advance. On two subsequent occasions he performed simi-lar acts of valour, and each time accounted for a number of the enemy. During operations he was directed to a position from which an enemy machine gun was being fi red on our troops. He located and killed the gunner, and the remainder of the enemy party ran into a dugout close by. From this shelter they were dislodged by a bomb, and 10 of the enemy ran out. These he disposed of. This non-commissioned offi cer actually accounted for over 30 of the enemy.

NEWLANDS ST Crib PointCaptain James Ernest NewlandBorn 22 August 1881, Paddington, Highton, Vic

In April 1917 at Boursies and Lagnicourt, France. On three separate occasions. On the fi rst occasion he organised the at-tack by his company on a most important objective, and led personally, under heavy fi re, a bombing attack. He then ral-lied his company, which had suffered heavy casualties, and he was one of the fi rst to reach the objective. On the following night his company, holding the captured position, was heavily counter-attacked. By personal exertion, utter disregard of fi re, and judicious use of reserves, he succeeded in dispersing the enemy and regaining the position. On a subsequent occasion, when the company on his left was overpowered and his own company attacked from the rear, he drove off a combined at-tack which had developed from these directions.


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SYMONS ST Bittern & Crib PointLieutenant William SymonsBorn 12 July 1889, Eaglehawk, VicOn 8 August 1915 at Lone Pine, Gallipoli, Symons commanded the right fl ank of some newly captured trenches and repelled sev-eral counter-attacks with great coolness. Next morning the enemy attacked an iso-lated trench, killing or severely wounding six offi cers in quick succession. Symons led a charge which retook the trench, shooting two enemy with his revolver. The trench was under fi re from three sides, so Symons with-drew to nearby head cover and under heavy fi re built up a barricade. His coolness and determination fi nally compelled the enemy to discontinue their attacks.

TUBB ST BitternLieutenant Frederick TubbBorn 28 November, 1881, Longwood, Vic

In the early morning of 9 August at Lone Pine, Gallipoli, the enemy made a determined counter-attack on the centre of a newly cap-tured trench held by Lieutenant Tubb. They advanced up a trench and blew in a sandbag barricade, leaving only a foot of it standing. Tubb led his men back, repulsed the enemy and rebuilt the barricade. Strong enemy bomb-ing parties succeeded in twice again blowing in the barricade, but on each occasion Tubb, although wounded in head and arm, held his ground with the greatest coolness, rebuilt it and succeeded in maintaining his position un-der very heavy bomb fi re.

WHITTLE ST Crib PointSergeant John Woods WhittleBorn 3 August 1882, Huon Island, Tas

In April 1917 at Boursies and Lagnicourt, Whittle was placed in command of a post. Around 10pm the Germans counter-attacked, Whittle quickly reorganised his men, charged the enemy and re-stabilised the position. Captain Newland arrived and the two worked together until the line was re-established. Whittle, who had seen some Germans moving a machine gun into a position, jumped to his feet and charged the enemy gun crew. He killed the whole crew and then carried the machine gun back to the Australian positions.

THROSSELL ST BitternSecond Lieutenant Hugo ThrossellBorn 26 October, 1884, Greenmount, WA

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during operations on the Kaiakij Aghala (Hill 60) in the Gallipoli Peninsula on 29 and 30 August 1915. Although severely wounded in sev-eral places during a counter-attack, he refused to leave his post or to obtain medical assistance till all danger was passed, when he had his wounds dressed and returned to the fi ring-line until or-dered out of action by the Medical Offi cer. By his personal courage and example he kept up the spirits of his party, and was largely instrumental in saving the situation at a critical period.


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GEORGE MORBY INGRAM was born in Bendigo in 1889, but lived much of his life in Hastings. He died in 1961 and is buried in Frankston cemetery.On 4 October 1918, the 24th Battalion took part in the attack that captured the Beaurevoir sector in France, and was, therefore, expecting to have a rest the following day when the unit was unexpectedly ordered to take part in another attack. The assault was to starts at 6.05am from the village of Remicourt, and lead to the capture of Montbrehain by the 21st and 24th Battalions with tanks to provide support. The action was to prove the fi nal engagement for the Australian infantry during the war, and it was during this attack that Ingram was to earn the Victoria Cross; the 64th and fi nal,Australian to do so during the First World War.At the designated time, the two infantry battalions started the attack under the cover of an artillery barrage. The advance was heavily counter-attacked by German machine gun and artillery fi re, but the Australians managed to continue despite the late arrival of the tanks. About 100 yards (91 metres) from the German trenches, the 24th

Battalion’s B Company – in which Ingram was commanding a platoon – became the object of severe sniper and machine gun fi re, halting the unit’s advance. Under the cover of a Lewis gun, Ingram dashed ahead of his men and led them against the German strong point. After a fi erce fi ght, the platoon succeeded in capturing nine machine guns and killing all 42 Germans who had occupied the line; Ingram accounting for at least 18 of them himself.Soon after, the company came under heavy fi re from an old quarry occupied by more than 100 German soldiers who possessed as many as 40 machine guns. Severe casualties were sustained as they began to advance for attack, including the company commander who was seriously wounded. Taking command, Ingram rallied the men and rushed forward.Jumping into the quarry, he charged the fi rst post himself, shooting six German soldiers and capturing a machine gun. The German forces were soon overcome, and 30 troops subsequently surrendered.While his men were clearing up the remaining German positions, Ingram scouted ahead

in search of machine gun nests in the village. He soon located one positioned in a house, which had been fi ring through the cellar ventilator. Managing to enter the house, he shot the gunner through the ventilator. He fi red several more shots into the cellar before rushing to the head of the cellar stairs. By thus cutting off any means of escape, a further 30 Germans were taken prisoner.The battle for Montbrehain raged until 8pm that night, during which time the line had been linked up and consolidated. The casualties of the 24th Battalion had been so high that two companies of the 27th Battalion had to be attached for support; the 24th Battalion left the front line for the last time on 6 October.The full citation for Ingram’s Victoria Cross appeared in a supplement to the London Gazette on 6 January 1919; it read:War Offi ce, 6th January, 1919.His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Offi cers, Non-commissioned Offi cers and Men: —Lt. George Morby Ingram,

M.M., 24th Bn., A.I.F.For most conspicuous bravery and initiative during the attack on Montbrehain, East of Peronne, on 5th October, 1918. When early in the advance his platoon was held up by a strong point, Lt. Ingram, without hesi-tation, dashed out and rushed the post at the head of his men, capturing nine machine guns and killing 42 enemy after stubborn resistance.Later, when the company had suffered severe casualties from enemy posts, and many leaders had fallen, he at once took control of the situation, rallied his men under intense fi re, and led them forward. He himself rushed the fi rst post, shot six of the enemy, and captured a machine gun, thus overcoming serious resistance.On two subsequent occasions he again displayed great dash and resource in the capture of enemy posts, infl icting many casualties and taking 62 prisoners.Throughout the whole day he showed the most inspiring example of courage and leadership, and freely exposed himself regardless of danger.

George Morby Ingram –Western Port’s own VC winner


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WITH development of new parts of Hastings in the 1960s and 1970s, the deci-sion was made to name many of streets in honour of Royal Australian Navy vessels.

This was probably due to the towns proximity to and connection with HMAS Cer-berus, the navy’s premier train ing establishment where about 6000 personnel are trained annually, averaging 800 trainees at Cerberus at any one time.

In following pages we look at Hastings’ “navy streets”, but fi rst a bit of history.

The Commonwealth Naval Forces were established on 1 March 1901, two months after the federation of Aus-tralia. On 10 July 1911, King George V granted the title of “Royal Australian Navy”.

During the First World War, the RAN was initially responsible for capturing many of Germany’s South Pacifi c colonies and protect-ing Australian shipping from the German East Asia Squad-ron. Later in the war, most of the RAN’s major ships oper-ated as part of Royal Navy forces in the Mediterranean and North Sea.

During the 1920s and

early 1930s, the RAN was drastically reduced in size. As international tensions in-creased, however, the RAN was modernised and ex-panded. Early in the Second World War, RAN ships again operated as part of the Royal Navy, many serving with distinction in the Mediterra-nean, Red Sea, west African coast, Persian Gulf and In-dian Ocean.

Following the outbreak of the Pacifi c War and the vir-tual destruction of the Royal Navy in Asia, the RAN oper-ated more independently, or

as part of United States Navy forces. By war’s end, the RAN was the fi fth-largest navy in the world.

After the war, the size of the RAN was again reduced, but it gained new capabilities with the delivery of two air-craft carriers. The RAN saw action in many Cold War-era confl icts in the Asia-Pacifi c region and operated along-side the Royal Navy and US Navy off Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam. Since the end of the Cold War, the RAN has been part of Coalition forces in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean and a criti-cal element in Australian op-erations in East Timor and the Solomon Islands.

Currently, the RAN fl eet consists of 51 vessels, in-cluding frigates, submarines, patrol boats and auxiliary ships. The modern RAN is tasked with defending Aus-tralian waters and undertak-ing wider deployments.

Current deployments in-clude contributions to the multinational force in Iraq, support for the UN mission in East Timor and a “region-al assistance mission” with New Zealand in the Solomon Islands.

Hastings is a link to Australian naval history

BARCOO ST Hastings

HMAS BarcooHMAS Barcoo was a River class frigate that served the Royal Australian Navy from 1944-1964.

She was named for the Barcoo River in Queensland and was one of 12 River class frigates built for the RAN during the Second World War.

The vessel logged 342,579 nautical miles (634,456km) in her career.

Barcoo was laid down in Sydney on 21 October 1942, and launched on 26 August of the following year by the wife of Richard Keane, the Minister for Trade and Cus-toms.

Barcoo was commissioned at Sydney on 17 January 1944.

After several weeks of working up, Barcoo was tasked to New Guinea in March 1944 for convoy es-cort duty. That year, the ship also participated in the bom-bardments of Japanese Army positions in eastern New Guinea, rescued two downed American P-47 Thunderbolt pilots, and conducted convoy escort and patrol duties in the waters around New Guinea.

The frigate’s last hostile action occurred on 3 August 1945, during a bombardment of the village of Soengaipat-

en in Borneo.Barcoo received the three

battle honours for her war-time service: “Pacifi c 1944-45”, “New Guinea 1944”, and “Borneo 1945”.

In August 1946, Barcoo was refi tted as a survey ves-sel. She logged about 54,000 nautical miles (100,000km) on survey duty, before being retired from service in 1949. She was reactivated for sur-vey duties from 1952-56 and from 1959-64.

Barcoo was decommis-sioned from the Royal Aus-tralian Navy on 21 February 1964.


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CURLEW CT Hastings

HMAS CurlewHMAS Curlew was a Ton class minesweeper built by the Montrose Shipyard in Britain, launched on 20 February 1953, and commis-sioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Chediston.

Operated by the Royal Navy from 1953 to 1961, the ship was one of six sold to the Royal Australian Navy for A£5.5 million in 1961.Chediston was modifi ed for tropical conditions, and com-missioned on 21 August 1962 as HMAS Curlew.

On 20 September 1963, Curlew and her sister ships

sailed for their fi rst overseas deployment as part of Op-eration Gardening, a mine-sweeping task to clear a channel into Tonolei Harbour in Bougainville, where US aircraft had dropped a large number of magnetic mines in 1943. This was the RAN’s biggest minesweeping opera-tion for 16 years.

During the mid-1960s, Curlew was one of several ships operating in support of the Malaysian government during the Indonesia-Ma-laysia Confrontation. This ser vice was later recognised

with the battle honour “Ma-laysia 1964-66”.

In the late 1960s, Curlew and sister ship Snipe were modifi ed for use as mine-hunters.

Delays in bringing a re-placement class into service kept Curlew operational until she was decommissioned on 30 April 1990 after 28 years of service and 38 years to the day after her keel had been laid. She had steamed more than 400,000 nautical miles. Curlew remained in the Re-serve Fleet until she was sold on 17 June 1991.

BATAAN CT Hastings

HMAS BataanHMAS Bataan was a Tribal class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy.

It was laid down at Syd-ney on 18 February 1942 and launched on 15 January 1944 by Jean MacArthur, the wife of General Douglas MacArthur. The ship was commissioned into the RAN on 25 May 1945.

The destroyer was origi-nally to be named Chingilli, but this was changed to Kur-nai (after the Kurnai or Gunai Aborigines) before construc-tion started.

The name was changed yet again prior to the ship’s launch to Bataan; honouring ties between Australia and the United States by recog-nising the stand by US troops during the Battle of Bataan, and reciprocating the US decision to name a cruiser

USS Canberra in honour of the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra, lost at the Battle of Savo Island.

On entering service, Ba-taan sailed to Japan via the Philippines; although arriv-ing too late to participate in combat, she was present in Tokyo for the offi cial Japa-nese surrender on 2 Septem-ber 1945.

Bataan remained in Japa-nese waters until 18 Novem-ber, serving as representative of the Australian military and helping coordinate the repa-triation of prisoners of war. Between late 1946 and late 1949, the destroyer spent 17 months over four tours of duty in Japanese waters with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.

The rest of the three years was spent operating in Aus-

tralian waters. In late June 1950, Bataan was enroute to Japan for a fi fth tour when the Korean War started. From early July 1950 until 29 May 1951, the destroyer operated off Korea; patrolling and blockading, escorting aircraft carriers, and bombarding shore targets. A second Ko-rean tour occurred between 4 February and 31 August 1952, with Bataan fufi lling most of the same duties as before. Bataan was presented with the battle honour “Ko-rea 1950-52” for her service.

In November 1953, Bataan visited Singapore. This was the only time since the Ko-rean War, and the only time for the rest of her career, that the destroyer would leave Australian waters.

Bataan was paid off in 1954.


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DERWENT CT Hastings

HMAS DerwentHMAS Derwent, named for the Derwent River, was a River class destroyer escort of the Royal Australian Navy.

Derwent was laid down at Melbourne in 1959 and com-missioned into the RAN on 23 April 1964.

On 25 May 1964, Derwent became the fi rst RAN ship to launch a guided missile when she fi red a Sea Cat missile.

During the mid-1960s, Der went was one of several ships operating in support of

the Malaysian government during the Indonesia-Malay-sia Confrontation. This serv-ice was later recognised with the battle honour “Malaysia 1964-66”; the only one to be earned by the ship.

On 8 September 1980, Der-went joined fi ve other RAN vessels to form the Australia Squadron; the largest RAN deployment since the Second World War.

From 1991 to 1992, Der-went was used as a training

vessel, and was decommis-sioned at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia on 8 Au-gust 1994 after 30 years of service.

Following scientifi c tests to study ship survivability, Derwent was sunk in deep waters, 15 nautical miles west of Rottnest Island on 21 December 1994.

Her 110mm gun turret was preserved, having been placed at the Rockingham Naval Memorial Park.

DUCHESS CT Hastings

HMAS DuchessHMAS Duchess was a Dar-ing class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy as HMS Duchess from 1952 to 1964, and in the Royal Aus-tralian Navy from 1964 to 1980.

Duchess was laid down at Southampton, UK, in 1948. She was launched in 1951 by Countess Edwina Mountbat-ten and commissioned into service on 23 October 1952.

Duchess was initially as-signed to the British Home Fleet in early 1953. In Sep-tember 1954 and July 1955, the destroyer was deployed to the Mediterranean, and near

the end of the year escorted the Royal Yacht Britannia during the fi nal leg of Queen Elizabeth’s world tour.

Duchess continued to oper-ate in the Mediterranean until July 1955, and was involved in the Suez Crisis in 1956.

Following the loss of the HMAS Voyager, Duchess was accepted on a four-year loan from the Royal Navy.

During 1965 and 1966, Duchess operated in Ma-laysian waters during the Indonesia-Malaysia Con-frontation. This was later recognised with the battle honour “Malaysia 1965-66”.

Duchess remained in RAN service after the loan period, and was purchased outright by the Australian govern-ment in 1972.

At the start of 1973, Duch-ess underwent a refi t that removed several of her weapons to be replaced by a classroom for future service as a training ship.

Re-entering service in August 1974, the ship per-formed her fi rst training cruise in early 1975

In September 1977, Duch-ess was removed from ser-vice, and was paid off on 24 October 1977.


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GASCOYNE CT Hastings

HMAS GascoyneHMAS Gascoyne was a Riv-er class frigate that served in the Royal Australian Navy for almost 30 years.

She was ordered as part of Australia’s shipbuilding program during the Second World War. Twelve of these Australian-built frigates were to enter service with the navy. A further 10 were ordered but cancelled as the war drew to a close.

Gascoyne was laid down by Morts Dock and Engi-neering Company in Bal-main, NSW, on 3 July 1942.

She was launched on 20 Feb-ruary 1943 by Lady Wake-hurst, wife of the Governor of NSW, and commissioned into the RAN on 18 No-vember 1943. The ship was named after the Gascoyne River in WA.

In January 1945 she experi-enced her fi rst surface action of the war when she engaged two Japanese destroyers.

Gascoyne was present in Tokyo Bay on Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day, 2 Sep-tember 1945), when the Japa-nese surrender was signed.

The frigate received fi ve battle honours for her war-time service: “New Guinea 1944”, “Leyte Gulf 1944”, “Lingayen Gulf 1945”, “Borneo 1945”, and “Pacifi c 1945”.

On 12 April 1946 Gas-coyne paid off at Sydney into reserve but was recommis-sioned at Sydney on 8 June 1959 for survey and oceano-graphic research duty.

Gascoyne paid off again on 1 February 1966 and was sold for scrap on 15 February 1972.

JUNEE CT Hastings

HMAS JuneeHMAS Junee, named for the town of Junee in NSW, was one of 60 Bathurst class cor-vettes constructed during the Second World War, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy.

She was launched on 16 November 1943 by Clara Rosevear, the wife of John Solomon Rosevear, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, and com-missioned on 11 April 1944.

After entering active ser-vice, Junee was briefl y as-signed to New Guinea before

being redeployed to Darwin, where she served as an anti-submarine patrol ship until February 1945.

In April 1945, Junee was sent to New Guinea to serve as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship. In August, the corvette fi red her weapons in anger for the fi rst time; sinking three Japanese supply barges while in the Sangir Islands.

Following the end of the war, Junee evacuated Aus-tralian prisoners of war and civilians and assisted in the transportation of occupa-

tion forces. After completing these duties, Junee returned to Australia, and was paid off into reserve in January 1946.

Junee received two bat-tle honours for her wartime service: “New Guinea 1943” and “Pacifi c 1944-45”.

The corvette was reactivat-ed and recommissioned as a training ship on 25 February 1953.

HMAS Junee was paid off again in 1957. The ship was stripped and the hull sunk 20 miles (32km) from Rottnest Island, WA, in 1968.


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HASTINGS FOOTBALL CLUBThe late forties – a golden era

The resumption of MPFL football in 1946, proved to be one of the most exciting and successful periods in the long and proud overall history of the Hastings Football Club. Comprising champions such as Bob Stone, the Coleman brothers Albert and John, Les Tolson, Jack Roberts and captain-coach George Slocombe. These players were to provide the nucleus of three successive premierships 1946-7-8.

The 1948 HFC Premiership side which went through the year undefeated were not only a team of champions but also a champion team. Although he did not play until 1947, this overall period was known as the “Coleman era”, and the late great

John Coleman went on to become an AFL legend and one of the all-time “greats” of the game.

Four only members of the historical 1948 team remain alive today and for the staunch football followers who can remember, the overall grief and sadness of the war period was soon forgotten and replaced by the joy and success of the Hastings Football Club’s late forties football dominance.

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MORESBY CT Hastings

HMAS MoresbyHMAS Moresby was origi-nally named HMS Silvio and commissioned in the Royal Navy on 25 May 1918.

The ship was commis-sioned as HMAS Moresby on 20 June 1925.

Moresby reached Australia in September 1925 and was engaged on strategic surveys on and off until the outbreak of the Second World War.

For the fi rst year of the war Moresby served as an anti-submarine training vessel. In January 1941 she resumed her former duty as a survey vessel and until the outbreak of war with Japan in Decem-ber 1941 was engaged on

survey operations in Austra-lian and New Guinea waters.

In January 1942 Moresby was assigned to duty as an escort and anti-submarine vessel in Australian waters and until the end of 1943 was almost constantly at sea es-corting convoys on the Aus-tralian east coast.

This was the period when Japanese submarines were active in Australian coastal waters and three attacks were made on ships under escort by Moresby.

In November 1943 Mo-resby ceased operating as an escort vessel and at Sydney prepared to resume duty as a

survey vessel. From Decem-ber 1943 until the end of the war she was engaged on sur-vey operations mainly in the Darwin and Bathurst Island areas.

In September and October 1945 she took part in the re-occupation of Timor and was the venue for the surrender ceremony on 11 September 1945.

In November 1945 she car-ried out a survey of Yampi Sound, Western Australia, before returning to Sydney where she arrived on 13 De-cember 1945.

Moresby was paid off on 14 March 1946.

KIMBLA CT Hastings

HMAS KimblaHMAS Kimbla was laid down in 1953 and launched on 23 March 1955.

Kimbla had a long and mainly undistinguished ca-reer in the role for which she was built – in boom and mooring duties, after com-missioning on 26 March 1956.

From the early 1960s her main role was as an oceano-graphic research vessel, and she served her country well.

Due to her low speed, which turned out to be inval-uable in her oceanographic

role, Kimbla was affection-ately known as the “Snail”.

During her long career she steamed 363,000 miles at an average speed of 7 knots.

Kimbla was employed on salvage duties, an often un-pleasant but vital role, and the salvage of two major civil airline disasters were completed by the ship. They were the Fokker Friendship off Mackay in 1960 and a Vickers Viscount in Botany Bay the following year. There were also two major service recoveries, one a Sea

Venom that crashed into Syd-ney Harbour during Navy Week celebrations in 1962. The more recent salvage was of an F111 in 1977 off New Zealand.

When she entered har-bour for the last time on 20 December, 1984, she fl ew a 208-foot paying off pennant representing the length of the ship and one foot for each year of service, which was 29 years. Kimbla’s career came to an end when she was de-commissioned on the 15 Feb-ruary 1985.


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OTWAY CT Hastings

HMAS OtwayHMAS Otway was commis-sioned on 1 April 1927 under the command of Lieuten-ant Commander George J D Tweedy RN.

Otway left Portsmouth, in company with her sister submarine HMAS Oxley, on 8 February 1928 and sailed to Malta where both subma-rines were based until No-vember 1928.

On 15 November they left Malta and, travelling via the Suez Canal and Singapore, arrived in Sydney on 14 Feb-

ruary 1929. The remainder of Otway’s service with the Royal Australian Navy was confi ned to exercises off the NSW coast.

On 10 May 1930 both Ot-way and Oxley were put into reserve, alternating with each other weekly for diving exer-cises.

Otway was paid off on 9 April 1931 for transfer to the Royal Navy, and was com-missioning as HMS Otway on 10 April 1931.

She sailed from Sydney on

29 April 1931, in company with Oxley, for Malta.

During the Second World War, Otway saw service in the Bay of Biscay, the Medi-terranean and in home waters around Britain.

Otway was paid off by the British on 24 August 1945 and handed over to the Brit-ish Iron and Steel Corpora-tion. She was subsequently scrap ped by Messrs T W Ward of Inverkeithing, who completed demolition to-wards the end of 1946.

OVENS CT Hastings

HMAS OvensHMAS Ovens was the third of six Oberon class diesel–electric patrol submarines built for the Royal Australian Navy at an initial cost of $9 million.

Ovens was laid down by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Greenock, Scotland, on 17 June 1966, launched on 4 December 1967 by the Vis-countess Slim, and commis-sioned into the RAN on 18 April 1969.

The fi rst Australian Oberon

class submarines provided the RAN with an anti-sub-marine warfare training plat-form.

This soon changed to an operational role when their full potential as a patrol sub-marine, capable of operating undetected for months at a time, was exploited.

Ovens became the fi rst RAN submarine to fi re an armed Mark 48 torpedo, when she sank the decom-missioned Bathurst class cor vette HMAS Colac on 4

March 1987 during an exer-cise.

On her return to port, Ov-ens fl ew a ‘Jolly Roger’ to indicate a successful mis-sion: the fi rst time a Royal Australian Navy submarine had done so.

Ovens was paid off on 1 December 1995. She is pre-served as a museum ship at the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle.

She was the fi rst submarine to be preserved in Australia as a museum ship.


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QUADRANT CT Hastings

HMAS QuadrantHMAS Quadrant was one of eight Q class destroyers built for the Royal Navy, and was commissioned on 26 Novem-ber 1942.

She was immediately en-gaged in escort duties with Arctic convoys and contin-ued this arduous task in 1943. Her war service also included escort duties in the south At-lantic and Indian Ocean.

Quadrant took part in the north African landings, air-craft carrier strikes against Surabaya and bombardment of the Nicobar Islands. In 1945 she became a unit of

the British Pacifi c Fleet, tak-ing part in operations against Formosa, the invasion of Okinawa and operations against the Japanese home islands. In the early postwar months she acted as a troop carrier from New Guinea to Australia.

Later in 1945 Quadrant was transferred on loan from the Royal Navy to the Royal Australian Navy. She was commissioned as HMAS Quadrant on 18 October 1945.

After further service in Australian and northern wa-

ters, including a visit to Japan and Hong Kong, Quadrant paid off into reserve at Syd-ney on 20 June 1947.

In April 1950 work be-gan at Williamstown Naval Dockyard to convert Quad-rant to a modern, fast anti-submarine vessel. In June 1950 the ship’s transfer to the Royal Australian Navy was made permanent.

On recommissioning at Williamstown on 16 July 1953, the ship was classifi ed as an anti-submarine frigate.

Quadrant was paid off on 16 August 1957.

QUALITY CT Hastings

HMAS QualityHMAS Quality was a Q class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Quality was constructed at Wallsend-on-Tyne, UK. She was laid down on 10 October 1940, launched on 6 October 1941, and commissioned into the RN on 7 September 1942.

The destroyer served in the Mediterranean in the north African landings, and in 1944 in the Far East.

On 17 September 1945, she and HMAS Nepal were the fi rst Commonwealth ships to go upriver and berth in Tokyo. Quality transported a party of 300 Royal Navy

and Royal Marines person-nel from the British warships King George V and New-foundland for the re-opening of the British embassy.

Quality became one of fi ve Q class ships transferred to the RAN on loan. She was transferred on 8 October 1945, and commissioned into the RAN on 28 November. Following entry into Austra-lian service, the destroyer op-erated primarily in Australian waters.

Quality was paid off into reserve on 25 January 1946, prior to conversion into an

anti-submarine frigate. To fa-cilitate the conversion, Qual-ity and her four sister ships were gifted to the RAN in May 1950.

Quality was designated as the last of the fi ve ships to undergo the conversion. While waiting for this, the destroyer underwent refi ts in 1948 and 1950, and had to be docked for repairs to her hull in 1954. Eventually the conversion of Quality was cancelled and the ship was marked for disposal. The ship was sold for scrap on 10 April 1958.


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STALWART AVE Hastings

HMAS StalwartHMAS Stalwart was an Australian-designed and con-structed escort maintenance ship of the Royal Australian Navy.

Stalwart was laid down in Sydney in 1964. She was launched by Lady Maie Ca-sey, wife of Governor-Gener-al Richard Casey in October 1966.

Stalwart was commission-ed in February 1968.

The ship was designed by Navy Offi ce in Canberra to provide afl oat support for the RAN, primarily by providing maintenance and minor re-

pairs to the navy’s destroyers and frigates.

Stalwart could perform these tasks at sea, and oper-ate out of minor ports or for-ward bases around and away from Australia. Up to four ships could be assisted si-multaneously, with Stalwart providing power, water, com-munications, and personnel facilities for the ships’ com-panies of those alongside.

Stalwart was present at Port Moresby for Papua New Guinean independence celebrations. She assisted in relief efforts after Cyclone

Tracy destroyed Darwin. In late May 1986, the vessel was sent to the Solomon Is-lands on a disaster relief mis-sion following storms.

During the late 1980s, the ship focused less on her role as a maintenance vessel and more on her role as fl agship.

She took part in precau-tionary deployments to Fiji and Vanuatu during 1987 and 1988.

After this she was trans-ferred to the training squad-ron.

Stalwart was decommis-sioned on 9 March 1990.

TEAL CT Hastings

HMAS TealHMAS Teal was one of six former Royal Navy Ton-class minesweepers acquired by the Royal Australian Navy.

On 4 February 1963, Teal started her service with the RAN.

On 20 September 1963, Teal and her sister ships sailed for their fi rst overseas deployment as part of Op-eration Gardening, a mine-sweeping task to clear a channel into Tonolei Harbour in Bougainville.

Teal participated in the search for survivors of the HMAS Melbourne and

HMAS Voyager disaster in February 1964.

On 18 April 1964, Teal participated in a ceremony to commemorate the 194th an-niversary of Captain James Cook’s landing in Botany Bay following which she began a refi t to prepare her for her forthcoming Far East deployment as part of Aus-tralia’s contribution to Com-monwealth support for Ma-laysia during the Indonesian Confrontation.

This service was later rec-ognised with the battle hon-our “Malaysia 1964-66”.

On 11 October 1967, Teal, in company with Ibis, left Sydney to circumnavigate Australia conducting surveys and mine countermeasures exercises. The two ships re-turned to Sydney on 21 De-cember, becoming the fi rst Ton class ships to circum-navigate Australia.

Teal was paid off into Op-erational Reserve on 15 Jan-uary 1968. She was briefl y recommissioned and decom-missioned a number of times over the next nine years be-fore fi nally being sold in Oc-tober 1977.


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TORRENS CT Hastings

HMAS TorrensHMAS Torrens was a River class destroyer escort of the Royal Australian Navy. Built as a replacement for HMAS Voyager, Torrens entered service in 1971, and was ac-tive until her decommission-ing in 1998.

Torrens and sister ship HMAS Swan were ordered in 1964 as replacements for Voyager, the destroyer lost following a collision with the aircraft carrier HMAS Mel-bourne in 1964.

Torrens was laid down at Sydney on 18 August 1965, launched on 28 September 1968 by Dame Zara Holt, the

widow of Prime Minister Ha-rold Holt (who drowned off Portsea the previous year), and commissioned into the RAN on 19 January 1971.

Torrens and the destroyer tender HMAS Stalwart were at celebrations for Papua New Guinea’s independence from Australia in September 1975.

On 16 August 1976, Tor-rens and HMAS Melbourne were performing work-up exercises following the lat-ter’s refi t when they were called to assist MV Miss Chief off the coast of Bunda-berg, Queensland.

During late February and early March 1972, Tor-rens escorted the troopship HMAS Sydney on her 24th and fi nal troop transport voy-age for the Vietnam War.

Arriving in Vũng Tàu on 28 February, 457 Australian soldiers were collected be-fore the two ships departed the next day for Australia.

HMAS Torrens was paid off in 1998.

On 14 June 1999, Torrens was sunk by a live Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedo fi red by the Collins-class submarine HMAS Farncomb during the latter’s combat system trials.

VAMPIRE CT Hastings

HMAS VampireHMAS Vampire was com-missioned at Sydney on 23 June 1959.

Her early years were spent travelling on naval exercises.

Vampire departed for a Far East deployment in February 1966.

The ensuing months were busy with involvement in patrols off Malaya and Bor-neo during the Indonesian Confrontation, and on escort duty for HMAS Sydney in Vietnam

In January 1967 Vampire sailed for a lengthy Far East deployment including more

escort work with Sydney.Following a refi t between

September 1967 and May 1968 she deployed again to the Far East from March to October 1969.

In early 1970 Vampire was involved in junior offi cers’ training plus goodwill visits to Adelaide, Brisbane and Lord Howe Island.

This was a prelude to her being paid off on 29 June 1970 to undergo an extended refi t.

Vampire was recommis-sioned on 17 November 1971.

In early 1980 Vampire as-sumed her new role as a training ship.

The Royal Australian Navy ’s 75th anniversary was a fi tting year to mark the end of Vampire’s career. The last of the Australian Daring class destroyers was paid off on 13 August 1986.

After decommissioning, Vam pire was gifted to the Australian National Mari-time Museum where she con-tinues to be a popular tourist attraction for overseas visi-tors and former members of the ship’s company.


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HMAS WallarooHMAS Wallaroo, named af-ter the town of Wallaroo in South Australia

She was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during the Second World War, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Austra-lian Navy.

Wallaroo was one of only three Bathurst class ships lost during the war, following a collision with US Liberty ship Henry Gilbert Costin on the night of 11 June 1943.

Wallaroo was laid down by Poole & Steele Limited

in Sydney on 24 April 1941. She was launched on 18 Feb-ruary 1942 by Mrs Poole, wife of the shipyard’s chair-man of directors, and com-missioned on 15 July 1942.

Wallaroo entered service in September 1942, patrol-ling for enemy submarines between Adelaide and Fre-mantle as well as performing escort and minesweeping du-ties around Fremantle.

Just after midnight on 11 June 1943, while out to sea west of Fremantle, the cor-vette collided with Henry Gilbert Costin.

The night was overcast, and the ships were travelling without lights as a precaution against attacks.

Three of Wallaroo’s crew were killed in the collision, and the corvette sank four hours later with no further casualties while trying to reach Fremantle.

The Liberty ship received minor damage, and made it to port.

The corvette’s wartime service was recognised with the battle honour “Pacifi c 1942”.

WARREGO CT Hastings

HMAS WarregoFOLLOWING her commis-sioning at Sydney on 22 Au-gust 1940, HMAS Warrego was briefl y employed on lo-cal escort duty.

In October 1940 Warrego assumed duty as Senior Of-fi cer, 20th Minesweeping Flotilla and operated as a minesweeper until 3 Decem-ber 1941.

In late December 1941 Warrego travelled to Port Moresby and then to Darwin.

Part of a convoy that was attacked by a Japanese fl ying boat in February 1942, War-

rego had her fi rst chance to open fi re on the enemy.

The following day, 16 Feb ruary, the convoy was attacked by a fl ight of 54 en-emy aircraft and was forced to return to Darwin, but suf-fered only minor damage.

Warrego was at Darwin on 19 February 1942 when Admiral Nagumo’s carrier-borne aircraft delivered the fi rst enemy attack on the Australian mainland. She was fortunate to escape dam-age.

She carried on with various

escort duties in New Guinea and later in the Philippines.

After the war, HMAS War-rego operated as a survey ship.

She was paid off on 15 Au-gust 1963, one week short of her 23rd birthday, In the post-war period Warrego made a signifi cant contribution to the survey of Australian wa-ters, steaming about 271,000 miles on postwar survey du-ties alone.

Warrego was declared for disposal in 1964 and sold on 2 June 1965.


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NEARLY 700 Mornington Penin-sula “boys” enlisted during the First World War, including 247 from Hast ings, Bittern, Somerville and Tyabb areas, out of a peninsula pop-u lation of 6500.

Their stories would be forgotten but for a remarkable local paper, The Peninsula Post, and now a new book and DVD – Our Boys at the Front: The Mornington Peninsula at War 1914-1918 through the pages of The Peninsula Post – has been compiled and published this month by the Mornington and District Historical Society.

The outbreak of the war changed the lives of these communities as it did to so many rural places in Aus-tralia. The Post refl ected this by reporting on the many young men who voluntarily enlisted and on their progress over the ensuing fi ve years. It published many of their let-ters about these experiences. It hon-oured those who were killed and re-ported the joyous welcome given to those who returned. The paper also report ed on recruitment and repatria-tion, controversy over conscription, founding of the RSL and the creation of memorials to those who made the ultimate sacrifi ce.

In those days, Western Port, like the rest of the peninsula, was pre-dominantly rural. The largest prima-ry activity was the orchard industry, particularly in Somerville district. Western Port was prospering with commercial fi shing, coal transport from Crib Point to Melbourne, a nascent tourism trade and the estab-lishment of Flinders Naval Station.

The region had no electricity, tel-ephone or water system, and the age of motoring was just beginning, but the communities were vibrant, knit close by family ties, sporting clubs, churches, hotels and mechanics in-stitutes. It was this environment that created the men who were to show resourcefulness, courage, persist-ence and mateship in the face of the horrifi c conditions on the ridges of Gallipoli, the sands of Palestine and the mud of Flanders and the Somme.

When the war started, residents started Red Cross branches and pa-triotic organisations to make, collect and send food treats, clothes, walk-ing sticks and bandages for soldiers. Money was raised to support the Red Cross overseas, refugee funds, the YMCA and buy government bonds to pay for the war. Schools also be-came heavily involved. These efforts and the events they organised were all recorded in The Post.

Enlistment caused heartache for many peninsula families. Many were to lose sons or see them return home severely physically and mentally damaged. Their courage in contrast to the many families whose sons would not volunteer led to tension and was the subject of poems and letters. The pressure put on young men to join up was continuous with so many killed at the front.

The strain on parents of the young men was often expressed in The Post. One story headlined ‘Cour-age of Women in Wartime’ said those who did not have sons at the front “do not know what it is to live on hope and expectancy of a letter

traced by the hand so dear; they do not know what it is to dread the sight of the clergyman approaching, fear-ing his message of death; they do not know what it is to tremble at the sight of a telegram ... To us women, is given the harder part – to wait, watch and pray; yes, and to keep ourselves worthy of the men we have borne”.

One of the many men who did not come home was Bombardier Bernie Jones who was killed at Gallipoli. He was the fi rst volunteer from Hast-ings and had written long accounts of the voyage from Australia and his experiences in Egypt. Shortly before he was mortally wounded, he was promoted to corporal, and is buried at Anzac Cove.

Many letters, diary entries and reminiscences provided graphic de-tails of fi ghting in the trenches or working under fearful fi re. Gunner Arthur MacDonald of Hastings de-scribed the landing on that fi rst fate-ful day at Gallipoli. Hastings men Fred Boulter and Harry Foster wrote about trench warfare in France. Oth-ers described training, hospitalisa-tion, sightseeing in Egypt and Eng-land, and travelling by sea.

Alex Meldrum of Somerville wrote about his time in England, including a grand march past in front of the King. Wheeler Frank Shepherd of Somerville was one of many who suffered disease. He caught diphtheria at Gallipoli and wrote from England. Many gave in-sights into the conditions and life at the front. Through them all comes a strong sense of comradeship among

the peninsula men – and humour in the face of what can only be de-scribed as hell on earth.

Copies of The Post, which contain this wealth of information, are held in the Old Post Offi ce in Morning-ton by the Mornington and District Historical Society. Thanks to a gov-ernment grant, the pages have been scanned to ensure preservation.

The society used this opportunity to publish the book and DVD to bring to life these reports. It was launched on Sunday 17 April by Dunkley MP Bruce Billson, and is available in peninsula bookshops and will be in libraries. The book and DVD in-clude photos; complete letters, diary entries and reminiscences as printed

in The Post; war poems; lists of all men who enlisted; and biographies of men who featured prominently.

The book is for families who had relatives in the war, students and people interested in Mornington Pe-ninsula history. One reviewer wrote: “This is not a book about gener-als or politicians. Instead it tells us about the lives of ordinary men and women during war time. Their quali-ties – humour, courage, and honesty – remind us in many ways of what it is to be Australian.”

Our Boys at the Front: The Morn-ington Peninsula at War 1914-1918 through the pages of The Peninsula Post is available now at Hastings Newsagency for $39.95.

When our peninsula ‘boys’ went to war


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THE Cerberus Golf Club’s layout remains one of the hidden gems among the Mo-mington Peninsula courses. This is mainly because it has only been open to the gen-eral public for a relatively short period of time. Prior to the end of 1999, use of the course was exclusively for defence force personnel, their families and their in-vited guests.

The history of golf at the naval base is very interest-ing. There have been four golf courses constructed at Cerberus (originally Flinders Naval Depot). Golf was fi rst played at the base in 1921 by the offi cers only on a course constructed near the West Gate. This was reclaimed during the Second World War and used as a training area for close-range AA gun-nery fi ring.

The next course, com-prised of just a few holes, was constructed not far from the Wardroom (Offi cers’ Mess) but was later taken over as a sewage treatment plant. The third attempt at a course was made behind where the base gymnasium now stands; a more suitable location was decided on, and the new course was located between the base and Crib Point.

Development of the cur-

rent course began at the end of the Second World War, with the nine holes complet-ed in 1946.

The commanding offi cer at the time applied for fund-ing to build a golf course but was denied. He later ap-plied for funding to clear and construct fi rebreaks around the married men’s quarters. Funding was ultimately ap-proved and the fi rebreaks, once established, incredibly took on the appearance of nine fairways.

The men under punish-ment, and volunteers, carried out much of the develop-mental work on the course. Even today, the course still relies heavily on volunteers to supplement the efforts of paid staff.

The original greens were simply fl at, circular sections at the end of the fairways until 1974 when club mem-bers under the supervision of Green Masters constructed the current greens. In later years, the members built nine extra tees. The addi-tional tees have created 18 marginally different holes.

If you play the course, take note of the single headstone in the cemetery that is at right angles to all the oth-ers. History tells us that the occupant, who was a senior offi cer on exchange from

the Royal Navy, selected his own grave site when termi-nally ill and wished to be forever left facing his offi ce.

Defence funding for the majority of course mainte-nance, with the exception of the fi rebreak, was withdrawn from 1999.

To continue as a golf course the club was forced to purchase its own equipment, employ a course superin-tendent and manager, and fund all other maintenance related to greens, tees and the remainder of the course. To increase club revenue to support necessary main-tenance, green-fee players were permitted use of the course, following command approval.

The course stands as one of the best nine-hole/18-tee courses around. Several so-cial golf clubs have made Cerberus their home club.

The club is affi liated with the Mornington Peninsula District Golf Association and the course has a par of 72. Visitors are rarely disap-pointed and frequently pleas-antly surprised by what they discover. An honesty green-fee payment system applies when staff members are not in attendance and a shop can supply most of your golfi ng needs, including club and buggy hire.

JOHN PHILLIPS, owner and operator of Hastmotors, at 44 Glendale Ave, Hast-ings, served in the Austral-ian Army reserves unit. He enlisted in 1996, completed basic training at Army Re-cruit Training Centre in Ca-pooka, NSW, and marched out in February 1997.

He was then posted to 2/10 Artillery Regiment at Dandenong to work with fi eld gun detachments before being reassigned to Headquarters Battery 2/10 Field Regiment St Kilda as a craftsman vehicle mechanic with the Royal Australian

Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

Doing fi eld training, being able to use his trade helped in the event of a breakdown or if repairs were required while in the fi eld.

He achieved a Command-ing Offi cers’ Certifi cate of Achievement in June 2000 for outstanding performance of duty.

John completed several courses time and served in joint Task Force 112 in the area of operational search, surveillance and security at the Sydney Oly mpic games, making sure the public and

venues were safe. He also worked as emer-

gency response security for the NSW police department putting in long days and nights seven days a week.

John said: “It was all worth it to have been in-volved in the 2000 Olym-pics, the best ever in the world.”

He was awarded a certifi -cate of appreciation and a medallion for his efforts.

“I am very proud of my time and the spirit of the Anzacs holds a special place for me: so lest we forget.”

A golf club born from service

From serving the nation, to servicing your car


Documents

WPN Anzac 2011