Jan-Feb, Mar-Apr, May-Jun 1965 - Navy League of Australia

'"-WWAT YOUR SERVICEFor YourHolidayRequirements•Information and BookingsCall or TelephoneHOWARD SMITHTRAVEL CENTRESSYDNEY269 George St. Tel.: 27-5611MELBOURNE522 Collins St. Tel: 62-3711PORT ADELAIDE3 Todd Street. Tel.: 4-1461FREMANTLE1 Mouatt St. Tel.: 5-1071NEWCASTLE16 Watt Street. Tel.: 2-4711CAIRNSIS Abbott St. Tel.: 2115'6BALLARATCnr. Lydlard and Mair Sts.Tel.: 2-5462t w w w *1WWfWWWWfMtMARITIMEMAINTENANCEPTY. LTD.For:• Rust Elimination• Tank Cleaning• Flame Scaling• Cleaning and Painting jandAll forms of Ships'Husbandry and ServiceConsult:MARITIMEMAINTENANCEPTY. LTD.SMI House, Sydney29-14*8 37-8106(Day)(Nitfct)>«^«>d*dft#tfpi#>*******«i***»*»«p^**>*****.>NAMES SELECTED FORNEW FRIGATESThe names selected for twonew Australian warships willprovide an association with twoState capitals, and with the earlyhistory of the Royal AustralianNavy.It was announced recentlythat the two new anti-submarinefrigates currently being built inAustralia would be named TOR-RENS and SWAN.In continuing the policy ofnaming frigates after Autsralianrivers, the R.A.N, has establishednew links with Adelaideand Perth. Also, the names perpetuatedthe memory of the torpedoboat destroyers built forthe R.A.N.'s first fleet half acentury ago.The new H.M.A.S. TORRENSwill be the second ship of hername; the first was a torpedoboat destroyer, commissioned in1916. The new H.M.A.S. SWANwill be the third ship namedafter Perth's famous river. Thefirst SWAN was one of the earlytorpedo boat destroyers, whilethe second SWAN was a WorldWar Two sloop which continuedin service until 1962 as a cadettraining ship.Mr. Chaney, the Minister forthe Navy, said he was particularlypleased that one of the newfrigates would have a close associationwith Adelaide. His colleague,the Minister for the Army,Dr. Forbes, who had serveda term as Navy Minister, hadbeen anxious to have a SouthAustralian name back in theAustralian Combat Fleet.Mr. Chaney said that to enablethe name of Adelaide's riverto be given to the new frigate,it had been necessary to changethe official ship name of the Navyshore establishment in PortAdelaide. This had been knownas H.M.A.S. TORRENS sinceSEA CADET UNITHONOURSFORMER NAVAL OFFICERA new Sea Cadet Unit beingofficially established at Geraldton,in Western Australia, willperpetuate the name of a distinguishedofficer of the RoyalAustralian Navy.The Minister for the Navy,Mr. Chaney, said recently thatthe Naval Board had approvedthe formation of the new unit.It would be named TrainingShip MORROW.The late Commodore J. C."Copper" Morrow had an outstandingrecord as a destroyercaptain in the Second WorldWar. being awarded the D.S.O.and the D.S.C. In the post-waryears, he won wide popularity inWestern Australia during nearlythree years as Naval Officer-in-Charge (1956-59). He travelledextensively in Western Australiain the performance of his Navalduties. Commodore Morrow retiredfrom the R.A.N, in 1960after a career of 41 years. Hedied in 1963.Mr. Chaney said that as aWest Australian, he warmlywelcomed this gesture to the lateCommodore Morrow. It was thefirst time that a former Navalofficer had been honoured in thisway.The Geraldton Unit has beengiven "Corvette" status, with astrength of between 30-60 cadets.It is the 6th Sea Cadet Unitin Western Australia, and bringsthe total number of units inAustralia to 39.The Australian Sea CadetCorps is run jointly by the NavyLeague and the R.A.N.1940, but as from the 1st Marchwould be called H.M.A.S. EN­COUNTER. The new name wastaken from South Australia'sEncounter Bay.Value of theAustralian Sea Cadet CorpsBy Captain I. K. PURVIS, R.A.N., Director of Naval Reserves1 have been asked to write an The numbers who join eacharticle on the value of Sea year vary considerably amongCadets. No limits are set to the the 39 units which exist at thelength or scope of the article time of writing. There are sixso. to begin, 1 fall back on the units in W.A., one in Darwin,tattered dictionary which adorns two in South Australia, six inthe bookshelves of the office of Tasmania, eight in Victoria,the Director of Naval Reserves, eight in N.S.W., seven inwho incidentally has an overallQueensland and one in theresponsibility for administeringthe Sea Cadets on the NavalA.C.T. There is a total of aboutside.Value (Val'-U (L.) value, beworth) worth; the property orproperties of a thing which renderit useful; utility; price;amount obtainable in exchangefor a thing; equivalent; importance,etc. — so runs the dictionary.Selecting one of these meaningsat random, I take "price".Everybody talks of cost effectivenessthese days; that is tosay, everybody who has a fingeron the public purse and it hasnot escaped attention that theNavy spends something like£40,000 a year on the AustralianSea Cadet Corps. This brings uso another of the meaningsquoted—"the amount obtainablein exchange for a thing". Peopledo ask what the Navy gets inreturn and in the case of theVS.C.C. the usual currency formeasuring this facet of value is[he number of Sea Cadets whojoin the R.A.N. Expressed as apercentage of the total numbersof Sea Cadets who are eligibleby age for all or any of theavenues of entry to the Navy weget a figure of around 10%. Interms of the Navy's total recruitintake, the A.S.C.C. suppliesabout 4%.2,000 sea cadets in the country,supervised by 300 officers andinstructors.The Navy League and theNavy share the responsibility forthe A.S.C.C. The Navy providesuniform, boats, stores and controlstraining. It approves selectionof officers and instructorsas well as paying them an annualallowance. The Navy Leagueis responsible for the social andmoral welfare of the corps, theformation of new Units with theNaval Board's approval, and theprovision of accommodation andbuildings except when the Navycan assist by providing headquartersand training facilities innaval establishments.This is a very brief review ofwhat goes on behind the scenesin the administrative side andthe dry facts of value for money.What of the more human sideof the coin?A very human side is the finecontribution made by the parents,friends and civic authorities,who take an active interestin the Sea Cadets. By their personalefforts they raise money toprovide headquarters buildings,extra boats and gear, and notleast, meals and snacks for hungrysea cadets. A thought herefor devoted mothers who mendand press their sons' uniforms sothat they shall look smart onparade. I venture to suggest thatthese kind people who supporttheir local sea cadet unit receivegood value in return for theirefforts.But, reverting to the value ofthe A.S.C.C. and its members:Back to the dictionary again andwe find "the property or propertiesof a thing which render ituseful." It is necessary to visita Sea Cadet Unit to investigatethis. Go to a unit's headquarterson their weekly drill night andsee them on parade, perhapsbeing drilled by an ex-R.A.N.instructor who with firm competenceinstils the best of navalsmartness and discipline intothis group of say, 50 lads. Seethem pick up their feet andmove at the double to executean order, or observe the alertmanner with which they answersome question during instructionon the rules of the road at sea.Better still, stand on a jetty andwatch them take away a whalerunder sail.In these activities one sees thtreal value of the Sea CadetCorps movement. It is good forthe country as a youth movement,it is good for the Navy interms of future seamen, pettyofficers and officers and it is certainlygood for the lads themselves.So I say, with a final glanceat my dictionary, here is value,here is worth. It is to be foundin the Australian Sea CadetCorps.THE NAVYMARCH-APRIL, 1M».