HMAS Melbourne, my service

My first draft to HMAS Melbourne (R21), a light fleet aircraft carrier and the Flagship of the Australian Fleet, was in 1961 with the rating of Ordinary Seaman (UW3). Most sailors dreaded serving in the Melbourne, mostly because of the pomp and ceremony that went with carrying the Flag (Flag Officer Commanding the Australian Fleet or FOCAF), however I found it OK and was fortunate that some great voyages were made whilst I was in her. After returning to Australia from the Far East (FESR) and leave from HMAS Quickmatch in August 1961, I joined Melbourne in Brisbane before sailing for Hervey Bay (Exercise "Tucker Box", 09/08/61 to 15/08/61) and  New Zealand, calling at Karepiro Bay, Auckland and Wellington, then to Melbourne & on to Sydney for refit. My first job in Melbourne was as a watch keeping "cell sentry" and I lived in "2 Papa Port" mess just under the flight deck and beneath the arrestor wires. Landing aircraft hit the deck overhead and the arrestor wires made lots of noise catching an aircraft and also being repositioned. There were some benefits to this mess as there was a gun sponson outside where we could sun bake and there was direct access to the aft hanger where movies were shown.

The cell flat (brig) with 4 cells and two storage compartments (lockers) where I kept watches was in the bow of the ship and between the hawse pipes which ran through the two lockers. In a heavy sea the anchors and cables rattled and banged and when the ship was pile driving the deck moved as much as 50 feet vertically and was enough to throw one into the air or off a chair. It was extremely uncomfortable and noisy in rough conditions and during flying operations when an aircraft was launched from the catapult this part of the bow shook violently. Prisoners had to work and so the age old tradition of picking rope into oakum for calking was employed with each require to pick 2 pounds per day. The oakum was weighed and then given to Davey Jones. Failure to pick the required 2 lbs resulted in no evening meal, just a brew. Bunks in the cells were plain timber and had to be scrubbed daily. I was rated Able Seaman (UW3) on 24^th. January 1962 and moved from cell sentry to "forcastle part of ship".

In February 1962, Melbourne sailed from Fremantle for Singapore and was allocated for duty in the FESR for a period of 17 days and during the passage through the Indonesian Archipelago, the ship was at action stations with two venoms fully armed on the flight deck, one being on the catapult ready for immediate launch. This was because Indonesia challenged the right of ships to have free passage via Lombok or Sunda Straits and was a prelude to the aggressive Indonesian Confrontation that followed from 1963 to 1966. Melbourne took part in SEATO exercise Sea Devil in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand before touring the Far East and Japan, passing through the then Straits of Formosa, with the ships company closed up at action stations for the second time. It was the first time since the Occupation Forces that an Australian Flagship had paid a ceremonial visit to Japan. At that time Melbourne flew Venoms for air defense, Fairy Gannets for anti submarine patrols and two Sycamore helicopters for rescue, transfer and of course, going for the mail. Ports included Singapore, Hong Kong, Subic Bay, Manilla, Nagasaki, Kure, Kobe, Yokohama, Guam, Manus, Townsville & Brisbane before arrival back in Sydney.

As an AB my watch was either seaboat crew (Photo: Starboard seaboat where "watch on deck" was kept.), crash boat crew (during flying operations the port seaboat was turned out and fully manned during launch and recovery of aircraft.), lookout or life buoy sentry. Lookouts were kept on the gun direction platform (GDP) on top of the bridge and in full view of all flight deck operations and lifebuoy sentry on the Quarterdeck where one often took cover while watching an aircraft approach, in case a wayward plane missed its landing and hit the stern of the ship. I was fascinated with the launch and recovery of the aircraft. Melbourne had 5 arrester wires to catch the landing aircrafts hook and 4 were spaced close together at the aft end of the angled flight deck, then there was a gap to the fifth wire which was known as "The Jesus Christ Wire" being the last chance to land!

In the latter half of 1962, Melbourne exercised in Jervis bay, Hervey Bay (17/08/62 to 29/08/62) including Admirals Inspection, exercise "Tucker Box" (30/08/62 to 06/09/62) in the Coral Sea and then back to Jervis Bay. In December 1962, after 15 months in Melbourne, I returned to Watson for my TAS (UW2) course, which had been renamed Leading Seaman, Underwater Weapons Course. This course lasted until July 1963 when I rejoined Melbourne for a period until December 1963 when I returned to Watson to complete my Petty Officer TAS course and served in other fleet ships until being drafted back to Melbourne in charge of the Torpedo workshop in April, 1967. I was by now training as an officer (SD) and keeping watches on the bridge.

Melbourne sailed from Australia in May 1967 for a visit to the Far East, Japan and SEATO exercise Sea Dog. I kept 2^nd. OOW watches under Guns for the voyage, with a reserve Lieutenant Commander as 3rd. OOW ( we met many years later and he told me he never got over being ordered about by a Petty Officer during that voyage) and was awarded my Bridge Watchkeeping Certificate by Captain Tony S in August 1967, after being highly recommended by the Navigator ( Commander T, a Queens Navigator). Ports included Rabual, Manus, Subic Bay, Yokohama, Miya Jima, Kure, Hong Kong, Singapore & Fremantle before arrival back in Sydney.

In 1967 the RAN purchased new aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm from the USA and HMAS Sydney was to sail there to bring them back, however after years on the milk run to Vietnam, the aging ex-aircraft carrier, ex-troop transport was found to be unseaworthy when dry-docked and was replaced by Melbourne for the voyage. After a very quick dry-docking and a 32 day maintenance period at Garden Island, we sailed from Sydney Harbour on 29th. September 1967 for Pearl Harbour, Vancouver, Seal Beach, San Francisco, San Diego, Pearl Harbour, Suva & Jervis Bay.

In Seal Beach the ship loaded new generation torpedoes and armaments and in San Diego the ship loaded Douglas Skyhawk A4Gs and Grumman Trackers. (Photo: Berthing back in Sydney) I was no longer keeping watches on the bridge but as PO of the watch on deck and Chief Quartermaster. As CQM, I was on the wheel entering and leaving port and had to attend ceremonial occasions on the gangway which curtailed my social activities but only slightly.

On 13th. May 1968, I drafted from Melbourne to Watson and stayed there until my DEE. Melbourne was a good ship for me and I have fond memories of her.