On This Day

On This Day - 23 January

1861

A gun crew from HMS PELORUS, flagship of the Australia Station, joined the defenders of the British redoubt at Huirangi, NZ, in repulsing savage attacks by Maoris.

1885

The Queensland Naval Brigade was formed under LEUT Walton Drake, RN.

1929

The seaplane carrier HMAS ALBATROSS, (CAPT D. M. T. Bedford, RN), was commissioned at Sydney. Lady Stonehaven, (Wife of the Governor General), performed the commissioning ceremony. ALBATROSS was laid down in Cockatoo Dockyard, Sydney, and launched on 23 February 1928.

1941

HMAS NIZAM, (destroyer), sustained underwater damage in a collision with the wreck of HMS ROYAL OAK in Scapa Flow.

1942

HMAS ARMIDALE, (minesweeper), was launched at Mort's Dock, Sydney. HMAS KATOOMBA, (corvette), was severely damaged when struck by the U.S. oiler PECOS at Darwin. ADML Royle informed the Australian War Cabinet that an invasion of Australia by the Japanese was a distinct possibility.

1943

The examination vessel HMAS MATTHEW FLINDERS was commissioned. MATTHEW FLINDERS was laid down in Fleming & Ferguson Ltd, Paisley, Scotland, in 1914. She was requisitioned by the RAN from the Queensland Government on 23 January 1943.  

1968

HMAS PERTH, (guided missile destroyer), and USS BORDELON, destroyed or damaged 12 enemy buildings in a storage area at Dong Hoi, Vietnam.

1973

RADM A. M. Synnot was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Her Majesty's Australian Fleet.

2003

HMAS KANIMBLA, (CMDR D. G. McCourt), departs Sydney for service in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Bastille. The LPA had previously served in the Persian Gulf during the period December 2001 to March 2002 as part of the RAN force allotted to Operation Slipper.

2004

HMAS WARRAMUNGA, (frigate), intercepts the illegal fishing vessel MAYA V near Heard Island. Due to bad weather and heavy seas a Navy boarding party was fast roped, from a Seahawk helicopter, onto the vessel to take control of it and steam her to Fremantle. The tanker HMAS SUCCESS supported WARRAMUNGA and provided fuel to enable her to return to Australia from Heard Island. The Minister of Defence, Mr Robert Hill, announced that a small group of RAN personnel would soon deploy to Iraq to assist rebuilding the Iraq Navy. The 12 personnel under the command of LCDR Tony Powell, RAN, would be based at the port of Umm Qasr and assist RN and USN personnel with the training of the Iraqi Coastal Defence Force.