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Decommissioning of HMAS ADELAIDE

Publisher Royal Australian Navy (Australian, founded 1913)

Date19 January 2008

Object number00045049

NameBooklet

MediumCardboard

DimensionsOverall: 1 x 210 x 298 mm, 75.2 g

ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Department of Defence Public Affairs (Western Australian Branch)

Terms

booklets

DescriptionBooklet from the decommissioning ceremony for the Royal Australian Navy missile frigate HMAS ADELAIDE II on 19 January 2008 at Fleet Base West (HMAS STIRLING), Western Australia. It contains information on the ship's service, profiles of Rear Admiral N S Coates and Commander R B Slaven, an order of service for the decommissioning ceremony and details of the ship's company.HistoryBooklets are produced for guests attending the commissioning or decommissioning ceremonies for vessels of the Royal Australian Navy. The booklets provide technical information about each vessel, and an Order of Service for the Commissioning Ceremony, along with the history of any naval vessels that have shared the same name. A biography of the Commanding Officer and the Federal Minister for Defence are also included. The biography of the Commissioning Lady is also listed in each of the commissioning booklets, as it is naval tradition to have a female relative of a crew member participate in the Commissioning ceremony. HMAS ADELAIDE II was built at Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation Seattle from 17 May 1977 and was launched on 21 June 1978 by Lady Elizabeth Anne Synott and was commissioned on 15 November 1980. The current ADELAIDE has proudly served the nation throughout the 27 years of commissioned life and has twice been awarded the Gloucester Cup, presented to the RAN's most outstanding ship. The vessel has undertaken 30 overseas deployments including 16 to South East Asia, 4 to participate in Rim of the Pacific exercises, 3 to the Indian Ocean and 3 to the Middle East in support of coalition forces in the War Against Terror. ADELAIDE II was the first FFG to be home ported to Western Australia in October 1992 and attained world-wide notoriety as the ship that rescued English and French Around-the-World yachtsman Tony Bullimore and Thierry Dubois in January 1997. Other highlights in ADELAIDE's commissioned life include her participation in United Nations Peacekeeping deployments including Operation MORRIS DANCE in Fiji 1987, Operation's WARDEN and STABILISE in East Timor in 1999 and again in 2006 under Operation ASTUTE. Other Peacekeeping missions were Operation DAMASK in the Gulf in 1990, Operation SLIPPER in 2002 and Operation CATALYST in 2004. Since 2004, ADELAIDE II has undertaken 13 fisheries and border protection patrols under Operations RELEX, RELEX II and RESOLUTE. ADELAIDE will be scuttled as an artificial reef and dive spot off Terrigal, on the NSW Central Coast in late 2009. While this vessel was decommissioned on 19 January 2008, the vessel's name will live on in the guise of a fourth generation integrated LHD (Large Helicopter Dock) amphibious vessel that will be built by Tenix-Navantia in South Australia. SignificanceThe booklet demonstrates the continuing traditions and ceremonial procedures of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and provides useful information on HMAS ADELAIDE.