JJ's on Tour - Sydney, Australia

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Australia_stub.svg

 

In the last post in this series, we were back on the road, after having spent a glorious time in the Blue Mountains experiencing another part of the 'Australian Great Outdoors', and now we were headed for the wonderful city of Sydney, a city I had been really looking forward to visiting for the first time.

JJ's on Tour - Blue Mountains, Australia

Having arrived in Melbourne, Australia from New Zealand, just a few days before New Year 2023, we were already into the second week of January, with so many wonderful places already seen and still quite a few to look forward to, but I was determined to stick to my determination to live very much in the now, giving each new place visited my full and undivided attention so as to really get a feel for the significance of where we were at any given time.

Map courtesy of https://www.freeworldmaps.net/australia/

Of course the historical significance of Sydney and its story, that laid the stage for the creation of modern-day Australia, was very much front and centre of my appreciation for where we were headed, and I was keen to see how that history would be reflected today against the backdrop of one of the most exciting modern cities in the Pacific region.

The Founding of Australia by Captain Arthur Philip R.N. Sydney Cove, January 26th, 1788 - Algernon Talmage, 1937

For our few days stay in Sydney we decided to ditch the car, as everything we planned to see was either in walking distance or a short taxi drive away, with the furthest part of our plan being to travel out to Coojee Beach to walk the cliff path round to the world famous Bondi Beach, Point 15, which I plan to cover in a separate post and as an additional separate post I plan to cover my visit to the National Maritime Museum Point 11.

The city map below highlights the key areas and landmarks we visited during our stay with our hotel at position 1 being in the perfect place to easily get our way around the city and well placed to enjoy the many waterside eateries and historic pubs that are a feature and attraction of Sydney.

Our accommodation at the Amora hotel in Jamieson Street couldn't have been more different from our previous billet up in the Blue Mountains, but it made a comfortable change moving right back into the 21st century with fast broadband, a very comfortable bed and room, and stunning views out over the modern city of Sydney out towards the harbour area near the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Otherwise known as the iPad Position, Yours Truly relaxing after a hard days touring in
our very pleasant room at the Amora Hotel in Sydney

A room with a view, out towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Walking was a big part of this holiday as both Carolyn and I enjoy just ambling along, working off the calories and being able to take the time to enjoy the places visited with the added fun of just stopping to take in any given place at our leisure; and so we took the next few days getting to know the place by exploring some key landmarks in a radius of where we were staying, including a boat trip out in the harbour to see the city from the water as well.

On the first day in town we started at the farthest end of Hyde Park, now where have I heard that before?

Anyway this Hyde Park was a lot sunnier and a lot warmer than the other one I'm more familiar with and is the venue for Sydney's Anzac Memorial, Point 9, erected between 1932 to 1934 originally in memory of the fallen in the First World War.

As in similar constructions in Melbourne and Canberra, these memorials are a central focus for remembrance in their respective city's and the Sydney War Memorial, similarly has a combined role as memorial, historical research centre and museum to educate today's Australians about the sacrifice and commitment of previous generations in past conflicts, some still quite recent.

There is a small museum of artefacts from various Australian campaigns, and my I was immediately caught by one particular item that reminded me of another little jaunt we did in 2016.

These NVA helmets are still to be seen being worn in Vietnam, mainly as a cheap crash helmet for moped riders, and I picked up a couple of them during our visit.

JJ's Wargames - Good Morning Vietnam

Continuing our progress through the park we could see the Sydney Tower and the twin spiers of Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral, with the foundation stone for the first incarnation of this church being laid in 1821.

The Sydney Tower is the tallest structure in Sydney and the second tallest in the Southern hemisphere, after the Sky Tower in Auckland.

The first St Mary's seen here circa 1845, destroyed by fire in 1865.

The current St Mary's Cathedral was started in 1868, but was not completed, with the addition of its two spiers until 2000.

On approaching the litter bins near the Archibald Fountain we had our first encounter with a city park bird that in time would become all to familiar, as pigeons are to Londoners, namely the Australian White Ibis whose regular habitat of flooded pastureland and tidal mudflats has given way to a more urban lifestyle, finding easier pickings in city parks scavenging for food around litter bins.

The Australian White Ibis, Threskiornis molucca, a stunning bird when first encountered and quite eye-catching with that long beak and legs stretched out ahead and behind in flight, scudding in between the skyscrapers of the modern city sky line.

The Archibald Memorial Fountain, was named after J.F. Archibald, owner and editor of the political and business weekly magazine, 'The Bulletin' and the benefactor for the building of this exquisite fountain in Paris by Francois Leon Sicard in 1926, later unveiled here in Sydney in 1932 to commemorate the association of France and Australia in WWI.

Walking further on through the park to the King Street exit we came across a rather imposing statue of perhaps the most influential character in the development of Sydney from a British penal colony as it had been established from its first inception to a settled farming community that laid the foundation for the development of the later city, Major General Lachlan Macquarie.

 

Major General Lachlan Macquarie, 1762-1824, was the fifth governor 
of New South Wales, 1st January 1810 - 30th November 1821

Macquarie, a veteran of the American War of Independence, and service in India and Egypt during the French Revolutionary War arrived in Sydney from England on the 28th December 1809 with his wife Elizabeth, replacing Captain William Bligh, yes that William Bligh, after the latter had managed to enrage the garrison troops, the New South Wales Corps, later 102nd Foot, by his clumsy determination to stamp out corruption among their ranks and their control of the import of spirits to the colony, later referred to as the Rum Rebellion.

The arrest of Governor Bligh by the New South Wales Corps, 1808 
This rather unflattering propaganda cartoon was designed to portray Bligh hiding like a coward under his bed after having had the their ringleader John Macarthur arrested

Macquarie brought with him the 73rd Highlanders who relieved the NSW Corps, to be disbanded, after all you can't go around arresting governors just because they start to enforce the law, and thus ending their infamous reign, although in the process was somewhat compelled to leave several of their former officers still able to administer justice in the colony.

Major General Lachlan Macquarie would be the champion of emancipated convicts, not without resistance from powerful opponents at home, but his support would see him honoured by Australian historians as a proto-nationalist and regarded as one of the more enlightened and progressive of the early governors who sought to establish Australia as a country and certainly one of its 'Founding Fathers'.

Appalled by the state of the town on his arrival, Macquarie immediately set about restoring some sense of order, ruling that any stock found wandering in Hyde Park would be confiscated, he began a systematic renaming of streets, doing away with the term 'Row' or 'Alley' and discouraging the practice of simply cutting a way through the bush to get from one location to another by widening proper streets to rather encourage their use instead.

Macquarie's tenure as governor heralded a new era of construction despite the refusal by the then British government to fund construction of public buildings in the colony, that left many of the buildings commissioned during his time still to be seen today, as the Hyde Park Barracks, Point 8,  above and below, in Macquarie Street, exemplifies, with this building completed in June 1819 to house 600 convicts, later swelled to 1,000 as the privilege to stay outside of the compound became much sought after.

The building became an orphanage after transportation ended in the 1850's, later changing to law courts and legal offices, until its present day use as a museum telling the story of the building and the convicts it once housed, and showing off the oldest clock in Australia, placed there in 1817 by clockmaker John Oatley.

Hyde Park Barracks built to house 600 convicts in 1819

Across the road from the barracks can be seen the former courthouse now church of St James, started in 1819 but subsequently consecrated as a church in 1824, surviving to this day as Australia's oldest church.

St James Church, 1823, Australia's oldest church.

Further on down Macquarie Street past the statue of Queen Victoria are a series of Georgian style buildings starting with The Mint, Point 7, built originally as a hospital for 200 convicts and completed in 1816 by an enterprising Macquarie, offering a three year monopoly on the import of rum and spirits to three other enterprising gentleman, merchants Alexander Riley and Garnham Blaxcell and surgeon D'Arcy Wentworth in exchange for them building the place.

The Mint, formerly the southern wing of the Sydney Convict Hospital built in 1816

Originally composed of three wings, with one later demolished, the other would become the New South Wales Parliament House, before the other wing was converted into the Sydney branch of the Royal Mint following the discovery of gold in New South Wales in 1851, opening its doors in 1853 by Royal Approval.

The seated wild boar outside the Sydney Hospital reminded me of a similar beast to be seen in Florence, Italy, and of course the emblem of my Dad's former Corps, XXX Corps, part of Monty's 21st Army of Liberation. The polished nose shows how many rubs for good luck he has bestowed.

The northern wing of the former hospital now home to the New South Wales Parliament

Finally at the bottom of Macquarie Street, we came to the State Library of New South Wales, Point 6, but it was not the building that grabbed my attention but rather the impressive statue of Captain Mathew Flinders, one of the great explorers to follow in the footsteps or perhaps that should be wake of Captain James Cook.

Captain Mathew Flinders RN, 1774 - 1814

The 21 year-old Flinders first arrived in Australia in 1795 aboard the discovery vessel, HMS Reliance as a young midshipman to begin a series of voyages that would see him become the first person to circumnavigate the inshore coast of Australia and Tasmania, proving the latter to be a separate island.

From the library we headed for Brent Street, across the road that took us to the Museum of Sydney, Point 3, and to see a display that I was very keen to get a look at, not before passing the imposing bust of Captain Arthur Phillip, the first governor of New South Wales.

Captain Arthur Phillip, 1738 - 1814.
First Governor of New South Wales, 7th February 1788 to 10th December 1792 

In September 1786, Captain Arthur Phillip, a Royal Naval officer who had seen service in the Seven Years War and American War of Independence was appointed to command what became known as the First Fleet, with a mission to transport convicts and soldiers to and establish a penal colony in Botany Bay, where on arrival he would assume the duties of captain-general and governor-in-chief of the new colony.

The decision to establish the new colony in Australia was driven by two aspects, the need to find a new territory to transport criminals to following the loss of North America in the recent war with the American colonies and the need for a base in the Pacific to counter the threat of French expansion in the region.

Captain Phillip would lead the fleet aboard the 20-gun Sloop, HMS Sirius, taking command of her on the 25th October 1786, eventually assembling a fleet of eleven ships transporting 772 convicts, primarily petty thieves from the slums of London, men and women, together with a force of marines and attached officers to help in the administering of the new colony, approximately 1,500 people in total.

HMS Sirius, Flagship of the First Fleet. - Frank Allen

The fleet sailed from Portsmouth on the 13th May 1787, reaching Table Bay, South Africa, via Rio de Janeiro on the 13th October, the last port of call before arrival at Botany Bay, with Phillip transferring to the faster HMS Supply, a naval armed-tender, to lead the flying-squadron of the three fastest transport ships ahead of the rest of the fleet to prepare for their arrival, however only managing to arrive hours before the rest of the fleet turned up, with HMS Supply dropping anchor in Botany Bay on the 18th January 1788, the flying-squadron on the 19th and the rest of the fleet on the 20th.

My particular interest in visiting the Museum of Sydney was to see a remarkable collection of model ships that were built to capture the look of the eleven vessels that entered Botany Bay in 1788.

Having spent the previous two years building and rigging a lot of age of sail model ships, and with an eye to recreating some models for the slightly earlier period of the late 18th century I figured these models would serve as a very good reference point for that planned project, as well as learning more about this very special fleet that would lead to the creation of modern day Australia.

The Entrance to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, c1791 - George Raper, Ink & Watercolour.

These model ships give a very nice snapshot of the look and appearance of the some 12,000 British naval and commercial vessels plying the world's oceans at this time.

Convicts embarking for Botany Bay - Thomas Rowlandson, pen and wash drawing

I think you can see that this display of models was well worth the visit and to compliment each model ship the display had a series of information boards below giving the statistics and history of each ship portrayed, together with occasional personal stories of individuals concerned and period artwork to further add value to this stunning collection of models.

On the way out I took a picture of one wall showing an illustration of the Sydney skyline circa 1809 which makes for a grand comparison of the skyline that appears in my pictures of Sydney today.

The next day we were off after a fortifying breakfast of that Australian classic, poached eggs on toasted soda bread with smoke salmon and 'avo's' or avocados as we would refer to at home, and looking forward to the grand tour of two of Sydney's classic modern day landmarks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Point 13, a magnificent feat of engineering and similarly the Sydney Opera House, Point 14, not only an engineering marvel but one of, if not the principle centres for the performing arts in Australia.

Along the way we planned to also enjoy the Royal Botanical Gardens down on Sydney's splendid waterfront, before wondering back into town to see some more of the historic city, from the height of empire, to the very early incarnation of the city brought about by the efforts of Governor Macquarie.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel arch bridge linking the central business district to the north shore carrying pedestrian, cycling, rail and vehicle traffic, and has the local nickname of  'The Coat Hanger' for very obvious reasons.

The bridge was built by the British steel producer Doorman Long of Middlesbrough under the direction of and using the design created by Australian engineer John Bradfield of the New South Wales Department of Public Works, seeing construction started in July 1923 and its opening in March 1932.

The arch has a span of 1,654 feet and a summit of 440 feet above sea level and is built with 52,000 Imperial or Long tons of steel held together by six million hand-driven rivets.

During our visit we climbed to the top of the tourist lookout on the granite block built south-east pylon forgoing the dubious pleasure of donning the obligatory blue overalls and extended selfie stick to join one of the parties climbing the steps to the top of the arch, preferring instead to watch these intrepid potential bridge painters whilst soaking up equally glorious views over the city and along the river.

For our visit to the Opera House we had arranged to join a guided tour, and so I quickly changed out of my historical wargamer garb, and put on my arts-loving and architectural-appreciation one, although my new mind set slipped slightly during the tour when brought before a piece of modern art, and asked to imagine it in a way that wasn't the blocks of bright paint, seemingly slapped on in a rather haphazard pattern that it quite obviously was. I guess one man's art is another man's mess that could do with a bit of tidying up!

That said, I love classical opera, and a building with great acoustics and seating, ideally situated in one of the most beautiful parts of the planet, can only add to that experience, something we got a hint off as we passed one of the theatres inside to hear wafts of singing coming from within as the performers worked through a warm up for that evenings performance.

Designed by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon, the building is composed of several large precast concrete shells that formed the sections of a sphere, suspended on precast concrete ribs, with the outside of the shells, designed to create the impression of ships sails, covered in 1,056,006 gloss white and matte cream stoneware tiles. 

Carrying on the nautical theme emphasised in the curvaceous outside shape of the building, the interior public galleries that facilitate performance break areas and access into the several theatres, back out over the water with a design that captures the look of the curved stern galleries of a nineteenth century sailing ship.

This together with well thought through and state of the art acoustically designed theatre auditoriums with interior wall panelling and seating completed in locally sourced wood, all designed to surround the listener in sound from the stage, makes for a stunning opera house.

Finding our way back out and enjoying the obligatory ice-cream, we made our way along the harbour front via a slight detour in the the Royal Botanical Gardens  that form the back drop to Government House, the vice-regal residence of the governor of New South Wales, built between 1837-1843.

As we walked through the gardens my eye caught sight of a flash of white zooming through the tree canopy, followed by a classic laughing call that announced the presence of perhaps the most iconic of Australian birds after the Emu, and one I caught a glimpse of in the Blue Mountains, but was now here in all its glory sat in the branches above, seemingly about to enjoy a rather meaty looking brunch.

The Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae, a rather large member of the Tree-Kingfisher family of birds, this one well named to reflect its unmistakable call.

The Kookaburra hunts for its prey in a similar fashion to the waterborne kingfishers we are more used to at home, in that it will find a favourite perch to spot a lizard, large bug or small animal, from where it will swoop down to grab the unfortunate creature and return with it to its perch; a technique taken to another level when used to take advantage of one of Australians favourite pass times, the classic barbecue, where a great looking prawn of sizzling sausage makes for a great stand in for the more normal prey encountered in the wild.

You just have to smile, imagining the bird making its classic laughing call and snatching its prize amid enraged shouts from the barbecue chef caught out looking the wrong way.

An absolutely stunning bird to see in the wild and a real treat during our stay in Sydney

Passing the gates of Government House, Point 4, we headed back along the waterside facing of the gardens to enjoy the spectacle of some of the amazing plants and trees to be seen in this part of the world.

Government House, amid the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, the vice-regal residence of the governor of New South Wales

Government House - 'The tradesman's entrance'

They say familiarity breeds contempt, and I'm sure many of the locals didn't give the trees we were looking at, a second glance, but we don't see 'Bottle Trees' like the one below in the UK, and the above ground root structure on the tree in the picture below it, had me imagining how trees would look in 'Middle Earth'.

The Queensland Bottle Tree, Brachychiton rupestris, used as a food source by aborigines who would eat the starchy roots and seeds.

What an amazing looking tree.

The walk along the waterfront from the botanical gardens is a lovely promenade.

HMAS Warramunga (II) an Anzac Class frigate, the third ship of the eight in the class built by Tenix Defence Systems for Australia and New Zealand, having seen her sister ship HMNZS Te Mana arriving in Wellington in November the previous year, see link below. Here the Warramunga is alongside in Sydney's HMAS Kattabul naval base at Potts Point.
https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-warramunga-ii

HMNZS Te Mana arriving in Wellington harbour, November 2022
JJ's Wargames on Tour North Island, New Zealand 2022

We concluded our promenade with the pleasure of just taking in the view of Sydney harbour from the famous Lady Macquarie's Chair, Point 5, a seat carved out of a large piece of exposed sandstone by convicts in 1810 on Gadigal or Yurong Point, since named Mrs Macquarie's Point, and recording on it her role in the planning and creation of the road running through the government domain to the point, and having the road named after her.

By most accounts, Lady Elizabeth loved to sit here and admire the view and on the glorious early afternoon we enjoyed, it was obvious why.

The Governor's wife played a crucial role in supporting her husband's efforts in changing the developmental course of the colony, bringing with her books on architecture used by her husband and his lead architect, a convict himself, Francis Greenway, supposedly introducing hay-making in the colony and taking a strong interest in the welfare of women convicts.

Lady Elizabeth Macquarie, 1778-1835

From the waterfront we headed back into town to take a look at a classic building of empire, the former post office at Martin Place, Point 10. on the city map.

In a time of modern digital communication and the internet, that has seemingly shrunk the world with the ability to communicate with others around the planet, it is hard to imagine how important Post Offices were to the needs of a global empire that was Britain's in the 19th century.

Together with post and eventually telegraph and phone via a network of undersea cable, the Post Offices were the hubs of the communication network that linked Britain with her Dominions and Colonies, supported by the ability to protect her sea links via the Royal Navy.

As with the great railway stations of this era, reflecting the growing possibilities for travel and adventure that these palaces to travel represented to the masses, so the post office became the palace of communication with family back home, supplying world news that could affect peace and-or commerce.

This grandeur and importance is reflected in these buildings, although Carolyn and I recognised an even greater emphasis on their role with the examples we saw in New Zealand and here in Sydney than what we see at home, possibly reflecting that need to keep in touch with relatives left behind.

There are pictures of folks queuing outside the post office for telegrams confirming the fate of a relative caught up in war around the globe and it seemed very fitting that such an imposing war memorial to those lost should be placed here where so many tears were spilled over tragically terse notes confirming the loss of a loved one.

 

Today this magnificent building is a post office no longer but it was great to see how well the extraordinary façade of it and parts of its palatial interior featuring panelled stair cases and ceilings have been incorporated into the various businesses that not occupy the floor space inside.

One of the oldest parts of Sydney was just around the corner from our hotel in a suburb called The Rocks, Point 2, established shortly after the colony's foundation in 1788, with this part of town enjoying a colourful history

Initially an area of housing developed for arriving convicts, it rapidly gained a reputation as a slum, frequented by visiting sailors and prostitutes, and by the late 19th century home to a gang known as the 'Rocks Push' further adding to its rough reputation.

In 1900 the area suffered an outbreak of bubonic plague, leading to a major push to clean it up that saw some 3,800 buildings condemned and demolished before the start of WWI brought progress to a close.

Later developments in the latter part of the 20th century saw the cultural recognition of the area and an eventual drive to preserve its history, leading to its gradual gentrification, a process that has happened in many other former 'rough parts of town' in the UK, and with many of the Georgian and Victorian cottages now valued for their history, and I found myself recognising a lot of the style seen in them, easily identifiable at home, from places like Clifton in Bristol to Sidmouth in Devon.

As regular followers of the blog will know, I am a fan of visiting the odd historic pub now and then, just to imbibe the ambiance as much as anything.

The Lord Nelson Hotel is such a place, when visiting Sydney, being built around 1814-15 by James Dempsey an Irish stone mason, and his hotel now able to lay claim to being the oldest licensed such premises in Sydney.

Obviously after months away from home, and missing the atmosphere of a traditional English pub, the Lord Nelson made this certified Pom feel very much at home with the old admiral's famous victories of Trafalgar, The Nile and Copenhagen emblazoned around the top of a magnificent bar complete with proper pumps and the ale being brewed at the back.

There was even a nod to traditional English ale with some of the various brews on offer, which were ok, but 'not as we know them Jim'.

Close by was another remarkable hostelry, 'The Fortunes of War' laying claim to be Sydney's oldest pub, built by former convict Samuel Terry in 1828, he having been sentenced to seven years transportation for the theft of four-hundred pairs of stockings. 

This beautiful old pub has been in business for over 188 years and developed a reputation in previous times as being the first and last stop for sailors and departing troops sailing to distant shores in readiness to meet the fortunes of war.

As well as enjoying a very nice lunch here, I was also occupied with grabbing some shots of the very nice illustrations of ships that made up the First Fleet.

To round off our exploration of Sydney, Carolyn and I decided to get out onto the water and see the city from a completely different perspective, whilst enjoying some glorious weather.

The short trip along the waterfront enabled us to get a different look at places already visited and to see others that were not quite as accessible as they were from a boat.

Kirribilli House, seen below is, after The Lodge in Canberra, the second official residence of the Australian Prime Minister, which considering its style and location, not to mention that the British Prime Minister only has one, at Chequers, the Australian package seems to come with some very nice fringe extras.

Kirribilli House, second official residence of the Australian Prime Minister

The trip out on the water also revealed the naval importance of Sydney as base of operations for which it was one of the reasons the British chose it in the first place, and the Martelo tower on Fort Denison hints at the defences of a bygone era together with the tripod fore mast of the old First World War era light cruiser HMAS Sydney reminding visitors of Sydney's naval heritage.

Fort Denison and its Martello Tower

The tripod foremast of the Chatham Class light cruiser HMAS Sydney

The light cruiser HMAS Sydney seen here in 1914 with the two submarines AE1 and AE2 alongside off Cairns.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Sydney_(1912)

On our walk from the botanical garden we had caught a glimpse of HMAS Kattabul naval base at Potts Point which was improved upon by our cruise pass and reminded me that Sydney naval base was attacked in WWII by three two-man Japanese Ko-hyoteki mini-submarines on the night of 31st May - 1st June 1942.

Believed to be Midget No.14, this Ko-hyoteki class mini sub was raised in Sydney harbour the day after its two man crew attacked the naval base. The results of the depth-charge attacks looked to have left their mark.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Sydney_Harbour

After the attack the allies were able to assemble a complete submarine from the wrecks of the two recovered examples, M.14 and M.21, with the third, M.24, escaping the harbour but its whereabouts unknown until its discovery in 2006 by amateur scuba divers at an undeclared location off Sydney's northern beaches.

I had hoped to see the assembled example in Canberra, but no luck so I have an excuse for another visit to include that alongside seeing the Lancaster.

HMAS Kattabul after her sinking.

The Japanese attack although relatively unsuccessful, did result in the sinking of the ex-ferry, accommodation ship, HMAS Kattabul after two torpedoes fired by M.21 missed the American cruiser USS Chicago, with one going on to run aground, but the other hitting the breakwater to which was moored the Kattabul and Dutch submarine K-IX, with the subsequent explosion sinking the former ferry.

The two Royal Navy and nineteen Royal Australian Navy sailors asleep on board the boat had little chance to escape, with the sinking resulting in another ten crewmen wounded and several days delay before the bodies could be recovered for burial on the 3rd June.

The naming of the modern day base, HMAS Kattabul, is a very suitable memorial to their loss.

HMAS Adelaide (III), L01 and HMAS Canberra (III), L02, both Canberra Class Amphibious Assault Ships, known as LHD's (Landing Helicopter Dock)
https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-adelaide-iii
https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-canberra-iii

The base made for interesting viewing, with the RAN a major force in the Pacific theatre, soon to be raised another level with the British, US, Australian AUKUS programme announced last year, that will see the Australian's operating their own force of eight conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines.

HMAS Choules LSD (Landing Ship Dock) L100
https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-choules

HMAS Warramunga (II), FFH 152, pictured above during our promenade along the waterfront, lies alongside her Anzac Class frigate sister ship HMAS Arunta (II), FFH 151.
https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-arunta-ii

One final place to end this post on had to be the wonderful cuisine to be enjoyed in Sydney, with its seafood right up there with the best to be enjoyed anywhere in the world.

With that in mind and knowing my love of eating fresh fish when the opportunity presents, my eldest lad Tom, who spent several months in Australia as part of his gap-year, recommended we make time to visit the Sydney Fish Market, Point 12, first established in 1872 and running from its current location in Blackwattle Bay since 1966.

As well as supplying the city with a remarkable selection of fresh fish and shellfish, it is also home to the Sydney Seafood School and an amazing selection of restaurants and cafes around the market ready to rustle up and serve the catch there and then.

Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Sydney, one of our favourite places visited, and the Sydney vibe together with its excellent cuisine and friendly folks makes it an easy recommendation to anyone thinking of going.

Cheers Sydney.

 

The fun in Sydney continues with a look at the very impressive National Maritime Museum and our day spent walking the nearby coast and beaches between Coojee Beach and the world famous Bondi Beach.

The Mighty Krait, Ian McPhedran

 

To my surprise and disappointment, I noticed the other day that my last book review was back on the 23rd December 2021 and I know for certain that I have been doing a lot of reading since then, although not all focussed on military history, and a fair bit of historical military fiction and so I thought I would pick things back up with a review of a book that I read or perhaps I should say listened to during my recent visit down under.

I say listened to, because the need to restrict most of what I carried in my suitcase to mainly clothing, meant that the opportunity to take reading materials combined with often very restricted airline baggage allowances, imposed on me the need to adopt some new reading practices, namely the Kindle and Audible, the latter stepping up in this case as I enjoyed digging into a very Aussie title on our recent trip.

Commando raids and Special Forces are a well known and understood activity in my part of the UK, as we have, just down the road from my home town Exmouth, the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre at Lympstone, and personally I count many of my friends in and out of the hobby as former 'Bootnecks', as Royal Marines are fondly known, and we are justly proud locally of having such a famous special corps in our neighbourhood.

Royal Marine Commandoes training with their Mk. II 'Cockles'.

The first Commando training in the UK in WWII was very much an army activity, with the Royal Marines taking up the mantle of Britain's elite raiding force, alongside their army colleagues midway through WWII, that would eventually see five RM Commando's, 41, 45, 46, 47 and 48 land in the assault force on D-Day; and see one of the most famous of raids carried out in Europe by the Royal Marine Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD) in Operation Frankton, 7th-12th December 1942, that would see ten men in five two man Mk. II kayaks, known as 'Cockles' attack German shipping in Bordeaux with limpet mines leading to six ships being damaged in the attack and only two men evading capture, the other eight either executed (six men) or dying of hypothermia while attempting to evade capture. The RMBPD would later form the corps of the elite Special Boat Service.

https://www.anthonybuckleyfilms.com.au/dvd_heroes.html

Before travelling to Australia, I was vaguely aware of similar units operated by the Australian forces in WWII against the Japanese, based principally on wider reading around Special Ops in WWII and watching in the late eighties the TV mini series, 'The Heroes' starring Jason Donovan, at the height of his fame from his role in the Australian TV soap 'Neighbours' that became very popular back then in the UK, that covered the raid on Singapore in 1943, Codename, 'Operation Jaywick' by an Australian special force, often referred to as 'Z' Force, although I have seen that term disputed as being less than accurate for the time the unit and others like it were formed.

A young Jason Donovan starring in 'The Heroes', from 1989

I remember that we would also end up watching the follow up series, 'Heroes II, The Return', that covered the second raid, the following year, codenamed Operation Rimau.

The Mighty Krait, a treasured monument to Australian Special Forces, afloat and on display at the Sydney National Maritime Museum, during our recent trip.

My curiosity in reacquainting myself with the two attacks on Singapore in September 1943 and October 1944, was further piqued by my surprise at seeing the little Japanese pearl boat, formerly the Kofuku Maru, later named the Krait after her internment in Singapore by British forces, still afloat and on display at the Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney.

The Krait was renamed after a very poisonous sea-snake, but of course changed by the men that would use her during the first raid when on first sight of her, quickly calling her the 'Crate', but with her very shabby look, enhanced to appear as a Japanese fishing boat, working as a perfect disguise in enemy waters around Singapore, she would end up as the most deadly of all Australian warships in WWII; causing the sinking of three enemy ships and the damaging of three others totalling 10,038 tons sunk and 15,557 tons damaged, and would seriously undermine Japanese prestige and confidence after their rapid and devastating successes in 1942.

The raid on Singapore in 1943, that would make this little ship famous, is a fascinating story, together with the disastrous gallant failure of the second raid in 1944 and after searching the net for various videos and references to books covering the history settled on spending my first credits with Audible to pick up The Mighty Krait, by Ian McPhedran and narrated by Peter Byrne.

Major Ivan Lyon in 1943

The audio book has 26 chapters and weighs in at just over seven hours of narration, but I found the experience riveting and hard to switch off, looking forward to putting on the headphones for a bit of pre-bedtime listening and finding Byrne's delivery well paced and nicely modulated to capture the drama and detail of the events described.

The book takes the listener through the full tale of the events that compelled a British Army Major, later Lieutenant-Colonel, Ivan Lyon, Gordon Highlanders, to team up with an Australian 'adventurer', Captain Bill Reynolds MBE., who acquired the Kofuku Maru in Singapore and with his Chinese crew successfully navigated his way from the beleaguered fortress bringing out evacuees and those rescued from other sunk ships to sanctuary in India.

Getting the band together - Back Row: Able Seaman (AB) Mostyn Berryman, AB Frederick Walter Lota Marsh, AB Arthur Walter Jones, AB Andrew William George Huston, Centre Row: Corporal Andrew Anthony Crilly, 2nd AIF, Acting Leading Seaman Kevin Patrick Cain, RAN, Leading Stoker James Patrick McDowell, Leading Telegraphist Horace Stewart Young, AB Walter Gordon Falls, RAN, Cpl R. G. Morris RAMC, Front Row from left to right; Lieutenant Hubert Edward Carse, Lieutenant Donald Montague Noel Davidson, Major Ivan Lyon, Gordon Highlanders, C.O. Operation Jaywick, Major Hubert Alan Campbell K.O.S.B, who didn't accompany the raid, Lieutenant Robert Charles Page, 2nd AIF.

Lyon also ended up in India and on hearing of Reynolds successful and enterprising escape, hatched a plan with him to go back to the Japanese controlled port on the basis that if Reynolds could use the small vessel to come out, it could be equally used to enable a raiding party to go in.

The description of Lyon in particular comes across as one of those privileged officer class types, with all the right background and connections that typified the British army of the time, but with that maverick, aggressive streak, together with an ability to inspire and lead others that seems common to other similar leaders of that era that decorated British Special Forces in the Second World War, such as David Stirling of Special Air Service fame, or Orde Wingate of the Chindits.

Behind Lyon and Reynolds, Byrne outlines the other characters from British Intelligence and S.O.E., 'Spooks' in todays parlance, who encouraged and facilitated the plan, opening doors to senior command from General Wavell in India, who recommended the raid should be launched from Australia rather than India, his rationale that it would be a less likely expected route; to Lyon and Reynolds working their way through the American and Australian Combined Command, eventually gaining favour to back the idea from the Royal Australian Navy, who would end up making available the bulk of the men required for Special Ops/Commando training together with the small crew to man the Kofuku Maru, now renamed Krait, that would take the party in and hopefully get them out.

The whole plan was nearly abandoned in early 1943 when it was deemed the Krait was unseaworthy due to its unreliable and failing engine, until a replacement engine was sourced from Tasmania that allowed things to proceed.

The collection of items relating to Operation Jaywick on display in the National Maritime Museum in Sydney, donated by the family of Lt. Hubert 'Ted' Carse, with his jacket, medals and combat knife, he carried with him during the operation.

Alongside Lyon, his command team would form with Lieutenant 'Ted' Carse RANVR, skipper of the Krait, whilst operational command during the raid would centre on Lyon himself, bringing his sailing knowledge of the local waters that would be vital in navigating the final approach into Singapore harbour, Lieutenant Donald Davidson RNVR and 2IC, and Lieutenant Robert Page 2nd AIF, with Davidson in particular standing out in training, leading from the front, and continuously encouraging the men to perfect their fitness and close combat skills.

Ted Carse was an important replacement for Bill Reynolds who took up an invitation by the Americans to return to Malaya to collect intelligence, Carse bringing to the mission experience in sailing the difficult waters around Singapore and its neighbouring islands, that would prove its worth in keeping the Krait safely sailing in enemy waters, navigating the difficult Lombok Strait and keeping up the disguise as a simple fishing boat whilst the raiding party were away, until sailing back to the agreed rendezvous point and then home.

Training underway with an experimental canoe at Refuge Bay Camp.

The account does an excellent job in covering the selection process for the final team of men with the weeding out process that inevitably followed, as potential candidates were eliminated and returned to units during selection and training which started in September 1942 at Camp Z, the secret training base set up in Refuge Bay, north of Sydney.

During the training the men were kept very much in the dark as to what their eventual target for all their training would be, and with the introduction to the Falbot kayaks and to the Krait that would carry them, speculation raged as to the location, with Rabaul high on the list; only added to with the successful proof of concept raid organised on Townsville Harbour, 'Operation Scorpion' that saw five boats enter the allied harbour in darkness on 20th June 1943, to plant dummy mines on allied shipping as the Krait made her way up and around the northern coast of Australia enroute to Exmouth, Western Australia, her final port of departure for the raid on Singapore.

The Krait set sail from Exmouth on the 2nd September 1943 headed for the South China Sea via the tidal Lombok Strait, with Lyons leading a team of four Britons and eleven Australians facing a dangerous journey through enemy waters disguised as an innocent Japanese fishing boat, and with all the men covered in skin dye and costumes designed to complete the look of Asiatic fishermen, but with small arms and cyanide pills close at hand, should the need arise.

The Japanese ensign carried aboard the Krait to complete her disguise as an innocent fishing boat.

The Lombok Strait proved a challenge that relied on Ted Carse's skill and judgement to allow the slow Krait to overcome the speed of the current that at one stage left the old pearl boat crawling past Japanese lookouts on the nearby shoreline at about one to two knots, but successfully passing unchallenged. 

The approach dangers were coupled with the need for finding a safe island, away from locals whose loyalties were uncertain, to prepare the kayak parties with the need to remain undetected in daylight hours whilst moving only at night, then to time their departure to make best use of prevailing currents to enable the raiding party to enter and leave the enemy harbour before daylight might reveal their presence.

The account covers all this detail with a well paced description magnified by all the tension that comes though in the personal accounts from the surviving team members that made the attack on the evening of the 26th-27th September 1943, with one of the accounts detailing how on pulling alongside one of the targets in preparation to attach the limpet mine, the crew had to freeze as a port hole above swung open and a Japanese crewmen seemed to gaze in their direction for an age before withdrawing his head and closing the port.

The extraction of the attack parties and eventual liaison with the Krait in preparation for return to Exmouth is all covered, together with the tense encounters with Japanese aircraft patrols and the close encounter with the former Dutch gunboat, under Japanese management, that was described of course as a destroyer, but that on close inspection and a few waves from the men on the Krait, turned away at the last moment and let the little boat, all set to ram the enemy, with explosives primed and small arms at the ready, to proceed on its way.

The account then takes the listener through the ramifications of the raid, the utter confusion by the Japanese as to what had caused them to loose six ships sunk or damaged in a closely guarded harbour, with their suspicions turned on the local population and the atrocities meted out by the Kempeitai in pursuit of local saboteurs, that became known at the 'Double Tenth Massacre' by Singaporeans, to record the horrors of executions and tortures that followed on October 10th.

The confusion caused to the Japanese led the Allied Command to keep the raid a secret, much to the frustration of Lyon in particular, who was keen that the raid should be used in the propaganda war and to mock the inflated confidence in Japanese claims to hold on to what they had taken.

In addition the potential to go back again in larger force was not unnoticed by higher command, particularly after the Jaywick members had reported about the additional ships they were unable to attack due to the limited number of mines and boat crews available to their operation.

The ramifications of this aspect are well covered, explaining the planning for the unfortunate follow up attack the following year, 'Operation Rimau', Rimau being the Malay word for Tiger, recalling the large tattoo of a tiger's face on Lyon's chest, and the plan to attack with more boats, later changed to using motorised semi-submersible canoes called 'Sleeping Beauties', taken to the drop off point by submarine, and requiring the commandos to capture a small boat to be used in the more confined waters of the nearby islands to support the attack.

The plan went awry when the captured boat was challenged by a Japanese patrol boat that, in the ensuing gun battle, saw one of its crew escape to raise the alarm that would see eleven men captured and later executed in Singapore whilst the rest were hunted down and killed in neighbouring islands whilst trying to evade capture.

The rest of the book covers the post war reflections of Jaywick, Rimau, other Australian special operations and efforts by the surviving Jaywick members, namely those that did not go on the Rimau operation to memorialise theirs and their comrades contribution to Australia's war in the South West Pacific, which like many of the secret operations of WWII had the details come out gradually and partially over time.

Interestingly the fate of the Krait and its recovery after its sale, post war, to a timber processing business in Borneo, to be eventually restored to her wartime presentation seen today, is well recounted, and for a non-Aussie listener to hear an account of the debate on how best to preserve this important monument to those times and folks, made for an interesting account, between those who wanted her to remain afloat, mainly the veterans versus those who could see that the long term preservation of the vessel would eventually require her to come out of the water.

So disclaimers up front, I am not a share holder in Amazon and do not intentionally promote their business here on the blog, especially after what they did to Tolkien and their disastrous 'Rings of Power' effort, no thank you Amazon, but I have to say that I enjoyed the Audible experience and have continued my listening alongside the painting desk since. In addition The Mighty Krait made for an excellent first title to start with and if the subject is one that might be of interest have no hesitation in recommending Peter Byrne's narration of this book which fired my interest during our recent trip to Australia and will feature in some of those posts to come, so it looks like my Audible listening is here to stay.

Other links that informed this revue:

https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/moss-berryman-and-operation-jaywick

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorised_Submersible_Canoe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Jaywick

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rimau