Description
Australia’s first cruiser, HMAS Melbourne, was launched in Birkenhead, England in 1912, and commissioned on 18 January 1913. Upon arrival in Australia Melbourne was an object of great curiosity and pride – she was a symbol of Australia’s new navy and a potent member of the growing Australian Fleet.
for the next fifteen years, Melbourne was crewed by a mixture of royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) sailors and officers and served her country and the RAN in peace and war, before being decommissioned in 1928. For her service in WWI she was granted the battle honours Rabaul 1914 and North Sea 1916-1918. Often overshadowed by Sydney, and with many years away from Australian waters, Melbourne toiled at unspectacular but strategically vital war work as well as showing the flag in the region during peactime – including RAN flagship on several occasions. In January 1922 Melbourne’s moment of glory came with a dangerous and heroic rescue of the crew of a sinking American schooner at the height of a gale .
Paperback, 2013
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