HMAS Encounter was a Second Class Protected Cruiser Challenger Class operated by the Royal Navy and then the Royal Aust. Navy. Built in 1905 and Decommissioned in 1929. Scuttled 1932 at Sydney Heads.Colour photo of HMAS Encounter at sea. Photo stuck on white backing then stuck onto a brown foldout. Folder cover is cream on outside with Best Wishes on front in gold.Written on front: "With Best Wishes".photograph, ran, hmas encounter

"First Fleet of the Royal Australian Navy entering Port Jackson HMAS 'Australia', 'Melbourne', 'Encounter', 'Sydney', 'Warrego', Parramatta', 'Yarra'photo/pictures, ballarat rsl, ballarat

HMAS Una was a Royal Australian Navy sloop that began its life as the German motor launch Komet. The ship and her 57 crew was captured by an infantry detachment of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force led by John Paton on 9 October 1914, with no loss of life. Komet was then sailed to Sydney as a prize. During the time in which the Una was in service under Australia, the sloop was used as a Patrol and General Purpose Vessel. The sloop was used to patrol the areas of New Guinea, New Britain, New Hebrides and Malayan waters. In December 1918, Una was sent to Darwin to protect Administrator John Gilruth, following the Darwin Rebellion. She arrived on Christmas Eve anchoring beneath the Government House cliffs until HMAS Encounter arrived in early 1919. After World War I, Una was decommissioned and taken to Port Phillip Bay, renamed Akuna and used as a pilot vessel. She was finally broken up in Melbourne in 1955.Anchor from ex German Yacht KOMET built in Hamburg in 1911, captured in New Guinea 1914. Acquired by PPPS 1925 renamed UNA then AKUNA. In service 1925 - 1954 Made of Cast Ironanchor, komet, una, akuna, pilot vessel

This item is linked to the 'HMAS Encounter', possibly made on the ship c. 1913. In 1916 this ship visited a then unnamed island off the Western Australian coast, where the crew discovered two bronze cannons protruding from the sand. These cannons now in the WA Maritime Museum, Fremantle, have been linked to the "Mahogany Ship" legend by historian K.G. MacIntyre. Cribbage is a very popular card game, particularly with naval personnel. This cribbage score board belonged to Alexander Charles Forsyth who used it aboard H.M.A.S. Encounter in 1913. He was a stoker, service number 3086, from New South Wales. H.M.A.S Encounter, the fourth warship of that name, was built at Devonport Dockyard, Tasmania, for the Royal Australian Navy in 1905. She was a second class protected cruiser and in 1909 was lent for three years to the British Admiralty. In 1913 (the year marked on this cribbage board) she was in New South Wales and Queensland waters and in World War One she served in the Pacific region, taking part in the capture of German New Guinea. She was finally scuttled in 1932.Social significance: an example of leisure activities in early C20th. Historical significance: link to "Mahogany Ship" legend through H.M.A.S. Encounter. This is an interesting item with social significance as cribbage was a popular game, particularly in the 20th century, and it illustrates the pastimes of a generation past. It was given to Warrnambool and District Historical Society by a Wangoom couple and so may have local significance if A.C. Forsyth was related to this couple. H.M.A.S. Encounter was important in Australia’s naval history. Rectangular brass plate with rows of holes, grouped in tens. Plate mounted with 5 brass studs to a rectangular wooden base. 134 holes in brass, grouped in tens. Three holes in each end of wooden base. Board used for scoring made out of brass for game of cribbage Burnished gold on playing surface Reddish-brown on base 144 main indentations, 10 minor indentations Machine engraved "A.C. Forsyth" (in script)/ "1913"/ "H.M.A.S. ENCOUNTER" across middle of the plate, between the rows of holes. brass, ships, leisure, royal australian navy, cribbage board, games, mahogany ship, a s forsythe, encounter, alexander charles forsyth, warrnambool

Bayonet was one of 20 Attack class patrol boats built for the Royal Australian Navy between 1967 and 1969 by Walkers Ltd of Maryborough Qld . In the 1960s, Australia became more closely involved in events in the Asia-Pacific region. This led to improved surveillance and control of our enormous coastline, especially the northern approaches. Patrol boats controlled illegal fishing, smuggling and immigration, search and rescue, and occasional inshore survey work. Her hull is steel and the superstructure is aluminium. It is armed for small-scale encounters, with one 40-mm Bofors gun and two 0.5-inch Browning machine guns to fire warning shots across the bow of a suspect vessel. She was 32.6 m long and 6.1 m wide, 150 tons, powered by two paxman diesel engines and capable of about 24 knots. . A sister ship featured in the popular ABC-TV series Patrol Boat. The Bayonet conducted patrol duties around Australian waters until her scuttling by defence maritime services on 21 September 1999 in 82 m of water off Torquay in Victoria. propeller, hmas bayonet

This framed lithograph print in watercolour and gouache was produced on November 19th, 1924, by 20th-century marine artist, Mr R.N. Duffield. It depicts the event of a sea rescue that took place two years earlier. The framer was A.L. Frith of Footscray, Melbourne, who actively advertised from 1933 to 1935. The now disbanded Shiplovers' Society of Victoria (1930-2018) donated the print, and it seems likely that this print was framed for that organisation. This graphic image shows the conditions in which the rescue from the wrecked Helen B. Sterling happened. Captain George Harris was master of the American-owned, four-masted windjammer. His wife Edith and their ten-year-old son Leslie were on board, along with a crew of fifteen seamen. The ship set off from Newcastle, NSW, on January 5th, 1922, loaded with a cargo of coal to deliver to the Society Islands and on to San Francisco. Young Leslie later wrote a lively school composition for his teacher about his experiences on board the Helen B Sterling. He tells of a fire that broke out the day after they departed and burned a hole in a beam. Then another troublesome time on the 9th, when a strong gale blew a sail off the ship. Finally, he tells of the highlight of his voyage when, on the 18th January, the ship was right in the path of a strong cyclone, which broke the mainmast. Huge waves crashed over both sides of the deck, meeting in the middle, and the ship began to sink. The rescue from the wreck was an exciting time for the young boy, and even more so when one of his cats survived after being carefully wrapped in a pillowcase and thrown down from the ship for the boy. Reporters later wrote about Leslie’s comments, “... what had grieved him most was the thought that he might never see his two little sisters again”. Captain Harris said in a published statement, “… the gale was the worst he had met in his 12 years’ experience at sea. All went well for the first week. We then encountered a strong blow from the south-east. We tried the gasoline pump, but the engine broke down, and we had to do the pumping by hand. We at once shortened sail, but the sea increased in fury to such an extent that men were washed from the pumps. I was below at 5:30 on Sunday morning [January 22nd, 1922] when the main mast went over the side, … I at once sent out SOS signals, and got word that HMAS Melbourne was coming to our assistance. I had made a mistake with regard to our position, but did not know it until 11:30 o’clock, when I sent out the correct location. This was picked up by the Melbourne and I received the following reply: “We will reach you about 2 am. Keep a good heart. The Melbourne will do all she can.” Our ship was practically awash when we were taken off.” (Ref: the ‘Helen B. Sterling Disaster’, Maitland Weekly Mercury, NSW, 4-2-1922.) Officers from the Royal Australian Navy, Captain Henry J Feakes (later Rear-Admiral) and Commander Wilfrid Ward Hunt, were on board the light cruiser, HMAS Melbourne (1913-1928), when it left Sydney for New Zealand. After the SOS was received, the ship sped at full steam towards the sinking Helen B. Sterling. They found the vessel at about midnight and shone bright search lights on the distressed ship to illuminate the desperate scene. The Melbourne was unable to move close to the schooner, so sixteen seamen, including Commander Hunt, volunteered to man the Melbourne’s lifesaving 12-oared cutter. They rowed the sea boat with great urgency towards the victims of the sinking ship, keen to save lives no matter what the conditions. When the cutter was close to the Sterling, a line was secured between the Sterling and the cutter. The weary, waterlogged and anxious men on board could be rescued, one at a time, in the breeches buoy equipment, which looked like canvas shorts with a lifesaving ring in the waistband. The victims were hauled along the line and pulled aboard by many willing hands. All eighteen crew and passengers were saved, including Captain Harris and his family. The seamen of the Melbourne received a heroes’ welcome when they arrived in New Zealand. The grateful survivors were taken to Auckland, where they received the care and comfort they needed. Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Cr. Swanston, on behalf of the citizens of Melbourne, formally recognised the heroic rescue efforts of the seamen of the HMAS Melbourne on March 2nd, 1922, at a special presentation. Two large flags, a White Ensign and an Australian “Jack" Flag, were presented to the Captain of HMAS Melbourne, and souvenirs were awarded to the sea boat’s crew and its Commander, Wilfred Ward Hunt. Commander Hunt was also presented with an original watercolour depicting the heroic rescue from the wreck of the Helen B. Sterling, painted just after the event by renowned marine artist Arthur V Gregory (1867-1957), and he received a silver cigarette case bearing the City’s coat of arms and the inscription, "To Commander Ward Hunt from the Citizens of Melbourne as a memento of the rescue of the crew of Helen B. Stirling by H.M.A.S. Melbourne, on 23.1.22". Both the painting and the cigarette case are now treasured items inherited by his grandson; a reminder of “… a very fine naval gentleman who believed in leading by example." R.N. DUFFIELD: - The Lithograph print in our collection by 20th-century English artist R.N. Duffield is dated Nov. 19, 1924. It is very similar to, and possibly created from, the original A V Gregory watercolour presented to Commander Hunt and dated 1922. Mr R.N. Duffield has art works in the Yarmouth Museums, Norfolk Museums Collection; “Orient Liner Otranto …,” and "Convoy of six ships at sea", both painted in watercolour and gouache during the 1940s. Some of his other works, also painted in watercolour and gouache, have been advertised for sale on Internet sites. Some details differ between the original A.V. Gregory and this Lithograph Print: - -the words on the bow on the original watercolour are “Helen B. Sterling, Blain”, which is in Washington, USA, where the Sterling Shipping Company was registered from around 1919; the words on the print are “Helen B. Sterling, Halifax, N S”, for Nova Scotia, Canada, which is the hometown of Sterling Shipping Company founder’s wife, Helen B Sterling. -The watercolour is coloured and has fine details; the print is monochrome - The A V Gregory signed the watercolour in 1922, on the lower left; the print is signed with the Lithographer’s name on the lower right; “R N Duffield, Nov. 19. 1924” ARTHUR VICTOR GREGORY (1867-1957): - A.V. Gregory is a renowned marine artist who worked in watercolour and gouache. He painted actively between 1899 and 1932, creating over 3o0 works. South Melbourne, Victoria, was where he lived and worked. This Lithograph print is significant in that it depicts the rescuing of the passengers and crew of the schooner “Helen B Stirling”. At the time this was a significant event that made most Australian and New Zealand papers because of the involvement of the Australian cruiser “Melbourne”. The image demonstrates the perilous conditions experienced by seafarers. It includes an example of the line and breeches buoy method used to save lives at sea from the 1860s and into the 20th century. It reflects a time in our history when sail and steam ships cruised the world’s seas together, the former trading with a cargo of coal from Newcastle, the latter defending our country in World War I. The print is part of Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum’s Collection of maritime artworks that depict famous events, vessels and locations, showing the evolution of sea craft, and aiding the interpretation of our maritime history. The Lithograph print is behind glass in a black painted timber frame and mounted under a cream matte. The vivid image depicts a sea rescue in progress. The night scene is illuminated by a light beaming from a steamship, the Cruiser HMAS Melbourne. It reveals figures on the deck of a sinking sailing ship, the schooner Helen B. Sterling, as foaming waves roll across it. The stricken ship has a broken main mast, and a sail has been detached. A small figure is floating in the choppy sea, secured in a breeches buoy that is attached to a rescue line between a lifesaving cutter and the sailing ship. The crewmen in the cutter are ready to haul the shipwrecked victim aboard, while the figures on the foundering ‘Sterling’ watch them. The print’s paper-covered wooden backboard is attached to the frame with small tacks. A metal hanging wire is secured to two dissimilar eyelet screws. Inscriptions include text on the bow of the sinking vessel, a handwritten title below the picture, and a handwritten name in the print’s lower right corner. On the reverse are two oval, black ink stamps and a round cream label with printed text. The hand-painted print was reproduced from a lithograph, signed in the lower right, by R.N. Duffield of England, on November 19th, 1924. A Frith of Footscray, Melbourne framed it. Painted on the ship’s bow: “HELEN B. STERLING / HALIFAX N S” [Nova Scotia, Canada] Handwritten below the print: “AUSTRALIAN CRUISER “MEMBOURNE” (Tons 5600) rescuing crew of sinking four-masted schooner “HELEN B. STERLING” of Halifax NS Canada, Tons 1343 in a gale in the Pacific Ocean.” Handwritten on lower right: “R.N. DUFFIELD / Nov. 19. 1924” (underlined) On paper label: “Phone: / Footscray 398 [some of the text has torn off] / “A. FRITH / PICTURE FRAMER / Manufacturer / 17 Paisley Street / Footscray.“ On both oval stamps: “SHIPLOVERS SOCIETY OF VICTORIA / LIBRARY” flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, lithograph, lithograph print, reproduction print, helen b. sterling, the sterling, american owned schooner, halifax, halifax n s, halifax nova scotia, nova scotia, halifax n s canada, schooner, windjammer, sailing ship, four-masted ship, captain george harris, george harris, edith harris, leslie harris, sterling shipping line, hmas melbourne, hmas melbourne (1), cruiser hmas melbourne, the melbourne, australian cruiser, captain henry j feakes, commander wilfred ward hunt, sinking ship, shipwreck, sea rescue, gale, cyclone, 1922 rescue, shipwreck rescue, breeches buoy, line rescue, rescue line, lifesaving, cutter, cutter melbourne, sea boat, lifesaving crew, 12-oar cutter, shipwreck victim, r.n. duffield, marine artist, nov. 19. 1924, 20th century artist, a frith, footscray picture framer, shiplovers’ society of victoria, shiplovers’ society library, watercolour, a v gregory, arthur victor gregory, melbourne artist, newcastle coal, newcastle nsw, society islands, san fracisco, aukland new zealand, school composition, ship’s cat, sos signal, lord mayor cr. swanston, heroes, cigarette case