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| SMOKING
:The Kenbi dance troop perform a smoking ceremony onboard HMAS Bathurst. |
By
Hugh McKenzie
Like the
Patrol Boat FEG, LCDR Andrew Quinn scored a double at HMAS Coonawarra on February
10 and 11.
LCDR Quinn was Commissioning CO of HMAS Bathurst and decommissioning
CO of HMAS Bunbury.
“I knew the Fremantle Class Patrol Boats had served
our nation proudly protecting Australia’s sovereignty,” he said.
“I
knew the ship’s company was a tight-knit community that looked after one
another and was part of the larger naval family.”
‘Having
lived this life for the past 15 months it makes decommissioning HMAS Bunbury much
sadder.’
– LCDR Andrew Quinn
LCDR
Quinn paid a particular tribute to Mary Ciccarelli, the decommissioning lady who
had named Bunbury 21 years ago.
Commissioning HMAS Bathurst, LCDR Quinn
said, “We have inherited a rich and proud heritage from HMAS Bathurst I and
all the WWII corvettes that made up the Bathurst Class.
“Australians
have designed and built a new class of ship to meet our needs and to everyone
who has made this possible, my ship’s company and I thank you.”
LCDR
Quinn paid tribute to his commissioning lady, Mrs Judith Bagley, whose husband
Ron was a commissioning crew member in Bathurst I.
“We are very lucky
to have a commissioning lady who has such strong ties with the RAN and the city
of Bathurst,” he said.
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| SOOTHING
MUSIC : A bugler plays the Last Post at the ceremony. |
Decommissioning
HMAS Wollongong, LCDR Iain Jarvie thanked his ship’s company for their hard
work and detailed some of the ship’s proud history.
“Wollongong
served her early years patrolling Bass Strait before relocating to the north in
1989 for countless more patrols,” he said.
“She had the honour
of being guard ship for the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, when he reviewed the
fleet for the Bicentennial Naval Review in 1988.
“More
recently she received a CDF Commendation for intercepting a suspected illegal
entry vessel off Western Australia in 2001.
“That crew had sabotaged
their own vessel and Wollongong, along with the customs vessel Arnhem Bay, worked
courageously in very tough conditions to rescue 164 people from the burning hull
and the sea.”
Commissioning his ship, the CO of Larrakia, LCDR Tony
Powell paid tribute to the Larrakia people present and to the members of the Kenbi
dance troop who performed a smoking ceremony for both ships.
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| FINAL
FLUTTER: The White Ensign is lowered as HMAS Wollongong and HMAS Bunbury are decommissioned
at HMAS Coonawarra. Photos: LSPH Ollie Garside and ABPH Helen Frank. |
LCDR
Powell also paid special tribute to his commissioning lady, Donna Odegaard, for
the particular help she had given in forging the ties between his ship and the
Larrakia people.
“Over the years as we get to know more Larrakia people,
I know our paths will continue to cross and with greater understanding of both
our traditions we will be, in the words of our motto ‘United as One’,”
LCDR Powell said
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