HMAS Castlemaine - Williamstown - Military Ships and Submarines (Decommissioned) on Waymarking.com

HMAS Castlemaine was built just a short distance away from where she now rests by the Harbour Trust Commissioners, Williamstown in 1941, HMAS Castlemaine was on active service throughout World War II.

Boilers: 2 x Yarrow Admiralty 3 drum, oil fired
Engines: 2 x triple expansion steam engines developing 1800 I.H.P.
Speed: 15 knots (maximum)
Radius: In excess of 4000 miles at 10 knots
Compliment: 70
Cost: £250,000

Armament:
1 x 4-inch gun
2 x MG 0.5 inch guns
3 x Oerlikons (one Bofor was later fitted aft in lieu of an Oerlikon)
Ammunition:
282 4-inch shells
Approx. 2,500 rounds for each small gun
30 normal and 20 heavy-duty depth charges

World War II Service History
HMAS Castlemaine was one of sixty Australian minesweepers (popularly named corvettes) built during World War 2 in Australian shipyards as part of the Commonwealth Government's wartime shipbuilding program. Twenty were built on Admiralty order but commissioned in and manned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Thirty-six were built for the RAN and four for the Royal Indian Navy. All 56 Royal Australian Navy ships were named after Australian country cities and towns. HMAS Castlemaine is the last one still afloat.

Following commissioning at Melbourne HMAS Castlemaine proceeded to Sydney for working-up exercises after which she began operational service escorting convoys between Sydney and Melbourne. On the night of 11 August 1942, collision with a Manly ferry in Sydney Harbour put her in dockyard hands for seven days.

On 26 August 1942, she departed Sydney to report to the Naval Officer-in-Charge, Darwin, but when enroute was ordered to temporarily escort convoys between Townsville and Port Moresby.

On 29 September 1942, HMAS Castlemaine departed Port Moresby to proceed to Darwin arriving on 5 October. On arrival HMAS Castlemaine began a short period of service escorting vessels from Darwin to the vicinity of Cape Wessel. On 6 November with a Dutch army officer and four war correspondents embarked she proceeded to Betano (Timor) where, after embarking soldiers and refugees during the night of 7/8 November, returned safely to Darwin at daylight on 8 November.

In November 1942 it was decided to relieve the Australian 2/2nd Independent Company, then operating as a guerrilla force in Timor. It was proposed to use HMAS Ships HMAS Armidale, (another corvette), HMAS Castlemaine and HMAS Kuru (a former Northern Territory patrol vessel requisitioned as a naval tender) to run into Betano Bay on the night of 30 November/1 December, land 50 Dutch troops and withdraw 190 together with some 150 Portuguese refugees from Japanese occupation. On the night of 4/5 December a second run was planned to withdraw the 2/2nd Independent Company.

HMAS Kuru sailed from Darwin at 2230 hours on 28 November for Betano scheduled to arrive about two hours before the two corvettes, land stores and embark refuges for transfer to HMAS Castlemaine on arrival and then to transship and land troops from the HMAS Armidale. After this HMAS Kuru was to pick up the sick and wounded Dutch troops and take them out to the waiting HMAS Armidale before returning to pick up her own passengers for the return trip to Darwin.

The corvettes sailed from Darwin at 0142 hours on 29 November. At 0915 hours they were attacked by a single aircraft, but suffered no damage. En route they were subjected to two further air attacks, each time by five bombers, but again escaped unharmed. They reached Betano safely at 0330 hours on 1 December 1942. Meanwhile HMAS Kuru had reached Betano at 1145 hours (30 November) and embarked 77 refugees and one Australian soldier. Unaware of the delay caused by the air attacks on the corvettes, her commander, Lieut. J A Grant, RANR, sailed for Darwin at about 2000 hours.
Realising that it was far too late to proceed with the operation Lt Cmdr P J Sullivan (Senior Officer) in HMAS Castlemaine, having assured himself that HMAS Kuru was not present, sailed south at best speed. HMAS Kuru was met soon after dawn some 70 miles south of the Timor coast and her passengers transferred to HMAS Castlemaine, it having been decided to send HMAS Armidale and HMAS Kuru back to Betano to complete the operation under cover of darkness. The operation was canceled when Japanese cruisers were reported 60 miles south west of Betano. HMAS Kuru reached Darwin on 3 December but HMAS Armidale was lost by air attack on 1 December.
After parting company HMAS Castlemaine set out first to search for survivors from a missing RAAF Beaufighter some 150 miles south east of Betano and thence to Darwin where she arrived on 2 December to resume escort duty on the Darwin-Thursday Island route. On 15 December and the following day, her convoy bound westward from Cape Wessel to Darwin was attacked by aircraft. SS Period sustained a direct hit killing four and wounding six members of her crew. This and two further attacks on the convoy were repulsed by HMAS Castlemaine's brisk anti-aircraft fire. The convoy reached Darwin without further incident.
On 2 January, HMAS Castlemaine paid her second visit to New Guinea when she arrived at Port Moresby escorting the troopship Van Heemskerk. She returned to Darwin on 9 January and thereafter until the end of June 1943 she was engaged escorting merchant shipping between Darwin and Thursday Island and to Whyndam. Since commissioning the corvette had steamed some 31,000 miles.

On 20 July 1943 she returned to Sydney after an absence of 327 days, an almost unbroken seagoing service. Refit kept the corvette in dockyard hands until the end of August 1943.
Commencing with departure from Sydney on 27 August HMAS Castlemaine was engaged escorting convoys between Sydney and Brisbane until 12 November 1943. On 28 November she proceeded to Townsville having been allocated escort duty in the North Eastern Area between North Queensland ports and New Guinea. She was thus engaged until March 1944 when transferred to the control of the Naval Officer-in-Charge, New Guinea.
Operating in the New Guinea theatre the corvette was kept busy escorting and carrying stores, mail and troops. She visited Milne Bay, Langemak, Manus, Madang, Hollandia, Lae, Saidor, Finschafen and New Britain. It was uneventful but arduous service with almost no respite. On 11 June 1944 she departed Milne Bay for Adelaide for refit.
On 2 August 1944 Castlemaine departed Adelaide for Fremantle en route to Darwin and after calling at Onslow arrived in Darwin on 20 August. She had thus, since commissioning, circumnavigated the mainland of Australia. At Darwin she was allocated for service with a survey unit engaged mainly on charting the Scott Reef-Browse island area.
Save for a visit to Fremantle (24 February to 22 March 1945) HMAS Castlemaine continued to operate as a survey vessel based in Darwin until 16 August 1945. She then detached to proceed to Morotai and thence to Subic Bay (Phillipines). On 29 August 1945 HMAS Castlemaine arrived at Hong Kong, where until mid September she was engaged on anti-patrol and escort duty in the cleared channel. Thereafter, until 3 October she engaged in the mine clearance operations in the Hong Kong area with the 21st and 22nd Minesweeping Flotillas, which comprised 19 Australian minesweepers and attached vessels.

With the cessation of hostilities HMAS Castlemaine proceeded via Morotai and Thursday Island HMAS Castlemaine arrived in Melbourne on 16 November 1945. She paid off on 16 December having steamed 117,000 miles and 13,000 hours under way on war service.


Post War History

Along with other corvettes and 'River' class frigates HMAS Castlemaine was part of the Reserve Fleet (mothball fleet) swinging at anchor at Geelong From here they were regularly towed to Williamstown Dockyard for dry-docking and maintenance and returned to Geelong.
In 1955 HMAS Castlemaine was allocated to Flinders Naval Depot, (HMAS Cerberus) for use as a stationary training ship for engine-room personnel. To prepare for this role she was towed from Geelong to Williamstown dockyard for a complete engine overhaul with all other non essential equipment, such as guns, radar, radio, asdic, boats, minesweeping gear and deck fittings being removed. The crew's mess was gutted in preparation for the engine room artificer's work. A steaming crew joined the ship for the voyage to HMAS Cerberus in Westernport Bay to the wharf beside the Seamanship School that was to become her home for the next 15 years. After arriving at her new berth in 1956 HMAS Castlemaine was firmly secured to the wharf as a training ship for engine-room mechanics and shipwrights. The boilers were flashed and the engines and propellers turned slowly. The ships decks were stripped bare and little rigging remained and the shipwrights flaked out the anchor cables were on the wharf as part of their training. For the training of the engine-room crews it was like being at sea-save that they never left the wharf. The former mess deck was turned into a workshop and the minesweeping store into a classroom for the recruits. Later the small arms magazine was turned into a damage control compartment, which was flooded with water through water-boxes that had various size holes and splits in them. The damage control parties had to enter the compartment and plug the holes as water poured in, along with smoke bombs and lights going out. With the building of a new engineering school at HMAS Cerberus, HMAS Castlemaine's role as a training ship was reduced, especially as training methods and new technology was introduced to the syllabus. Parts of the engines and boilers were removed to the classrooms as models. During 1967 an investigation was undertaken to convert her to a Tank Cleaning Vessel, similar to Colac in Sydney. The idea was abandoned, and she remained at HMAS Cerberus, rusting away. In 1969 the HMAS Castlemaine was declared for disposal by the government. As the ship was now immobile her only future appeared to be the breaker's yard. Finally HMAS Castlemaine was offered for "Sale by Tender as Lies", with tenders closing on the 24th June 1971.

In October 1973 the Commonwealth Government gifted the HMAS Castlemaine to The Maritime Trust of Australia for preservation. By now she was little more than a rusty and gutted hulk, stripped of all her deck fittings, winches, armament. Inside was not much better with there were no light fittings, bridge-equipment, just bare bulkheads! Below the, engines and boilers were in pieces amidst a chaotic pile of rubbish. Now the work to transfer the ship from Flinders Naval Depot to Melbourne began in earnest. The ship had to be hammer tested and surveyed for the return to Melbourne and her role as a historic vessel. A detailed inspection of the engines and boilers found it too costly for them to be readied for the ship to proceed under her own steam. Arrangements were then made for a tow - her final sea voyage and a new berth. In February 1974, a further party of volunteers arrived on the ship to prepare her for sea and the long tow back to Melbourne. The Melbourne Harbour Trust Commissioners had kindly offered the use of berth No.7 South Wharf for HMAS Castlemaine.

The Castlemaine has been restored parts gathered from corvettes being scrapped in Australia and New Zealand.


The Ship is Open for Inspection 12pm - 4pm Saturdays & Sundays
Cost (2010);
Adults $6.00
Children: (4 -16) $3.00
Family: Two adults and two children: $15.00
No concessions

Historical information has been obtained from the ship's website www.hmascastlemaine.com

Type of vessel: Bathurst Class Corvette/ Mine Sweeper Hours of use: From: 10:00 AM To: 4:00 PM Admission? Cost?: $6.00 Date: 08/07/1941 Parking Coordinates: Not Listed

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