On a quiet Saturday afternoon on 15 May 1943, the senior Royal Australian Naval officer in Brisbane received a message stating that a USN destroyer had picked up survivors from the Australian Hospital Ship (AHS) Centaur. This was the first anyone knew of the tragedy that had unfolded a short distance off the Queensland coast.Continue reading “Surviving the Centaur sinking.”
Category Archives: RN / RAN Ships
The Krait’s Remarkable Career
The small fishing vessel MV Krait holds a special place in Australian maritime and military history. Named after a small deadly snake, it played an import part in Operation Jaywick’s which sank several Japanese ships anchored in Singapore Harbour in September 1943. This is the Krait’s story. The MV Krait started life as a JapaneseContinue reading “The Krait’s Remarkable Career”
The Mystery of the Peri
In February 1872 the crew of HMS Basilisk found fourteen men barely clinging to life on a derelict schooner adrift off the far north Queensland coast. The vessel’s name was not immediately apparent and none of the survivors spoke English. It was a mystery as to how the vessel came to be in those northernContinue reading “The Mystery of the Peri”
Bligh’s Epic Open-Boat Voyage
On 28 April 1789 Lt William Bligh was startled awake by the presence in his cabin of his first mate, Fletcher Christian, and several other HMS Bounty sailors threatening his life if he did not do as they ordered. He along with 18 members of his crew who wanted nothing to do with the unfoldingContinue reading “Bligh’s Epic Open-Boat Voyage”
The Loss of HMS Sirius – 1790
The loss of a ship is always a tragedy, especially so if there is also loss of life. But sometimes a shipwreck can have a profound effect beyond the actual loss of the vessel. Such was the case in 1790 when HMS Sirius was wrecked off Norfolk Island. HMS Sirius sailed from Portsmouth on 13Continue reading “The Loss of HMS Sirius – 1790”
Tales from the Quarterdeck 