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Tarakan’s
ships company celebrated her 30 years with a Seventies theme
party. CO HMAS Tarakan, LCDR Dave Hannah is congratulated
by CN VADM Chris Ritchie. Tarakan was CN’s first command.
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The
ship’s company of HMAS Tarakan recently took time out from
their busy schedule to celebrate the ship’s 30th anniversary
of commissioning.
CN, VADM Chris Ritchie, who was Tarakan’s first commanding
officer was the guest of honour at the party.
In keeping with the date of commissioning, the rig for the evening
had a 1970’s theme and the RAN band provided music from the
era.
Tarakan was commissioned at HMAS Moreton on June 15, 1973. She
is the second RAN Ship to be named after Tarakan in Northern Borneo,
where Australian forces fought in 1945.
The first Tarakan was a tank landing ship, which was decommissioned
after suffering damage from an internal explosion in 1950.
The current Tarakan is the 4th of an original eight landing craft
built in Maryborough in the 1970s.
The LCH class now has the distinction of being in commission longer
than any other ship still in service.
In addition to the numerous varieties of tasks that an LCH is
called upon to undertake, Tarakan has seen service in East Timor
and Bougainville.
She deployed to the Solomon Islands shortly after the celebrations.
