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Thursday Island gets Navy boost
By Gai Brodtmann and Mark Tanzer
Volume 50, No. 12, July 12, 2007 |
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| NEW START: Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Mr Peter Lindsay, and National Commander Australian Navy Cadets, CMDR John Goss, inspect TS Carpentaria cadets. |
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A mayday call by former Resident Naval Officer – Thursday Island, LCDR Chris Slattery and his wife Kylie, was answered last month with the official re-opening of Navy cadet unit, Training Ship Carpentaria.
In 2005, Thursday Island-based TS Carpentaria was suspended from operation due to lack of permanent accommodation and cadet staff.
At that time, LCDR Slattery saw the benefit to the community of having TS Carpentaria up and running again and the advantages of having the unit located in the Joint Defence Depot. After discussions with the Director Australian Navy Cadets, the redevelopment began.
Two years later, the TS Carpentaria ensign is flying high above a new $350,000 purpose-built Navy facility on the depot. The ship’s “crew” has gone from zero to five cadet staff – four of them islanders, with more than 60 cadets, in just a matter of months.
In true “TI-style”, TS Carpentaria was re-opened by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Mr Peter Lindsay, on a scorching day to a blessing of the ship by Bishop Saibo Mabo, a performance by local Meriam dancers and lunch with councillors and business representatives from all over the Torres Strait. Acknowledgement was also given to the Kaurareg Nation, the traditional owners of the land.
Mr Linsay said the Government was committed to improving cadet participation in remote, regional and Indigenous communities. TS Carpentaria is one of 170 units and squadrons remediated or rebuilt over the last five years through the $7 million Cadet Enhancement Program.
“Locating TS Carpentaria on the Joint Defence Depot strongly signifies this unit is here for the long haul and the long term development of Thursday Island’s youth,” National Commander, Australian Navy Cadets, CMDR John Goss said. |
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