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Volunteer Coastal Patrol wall pennant

Date1940-1960

Object number00045302

NamePennant

MediumFelt

DimensionsOverall: 273 x 2 x 735 mm

ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Barbara Butchart

Terms

DescriptionA navy blue felt Volunteer Coastal Patrol (VCP) pennant displaying the VCP crest. This pennant belonged to Doug Watt, co-skipper of the patrol boat PERT. Watt was a member of the VCP for more than 30 years and was Commanding Officer from 26 July 1956 to 5 December 1957.HistoryDoug Watt was a member of the Volunteer Coastal Patrol and bought HERON on 21 October 1960. He was Commanding Officer 26 July 1956 to 5 December 1957 and served a total of over 30 years for the VCP. The VCP was established in 1937 and its objectives were to bring together yachtsmen and those interested in small ships and encourage them to undergo a course of training so that their services would be of value to the authorities in rescue situations, and to train and educate these yachtsmen so that Australia's waterways could be made safer for those who ventured upon them in small craft. When World War II was declared in 1939, members of the Patrol affirmed their desire to serve their country as a volunteer service, assisting the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, Water Police and Maritime Services Board in the vital defence of Sydney Harbour. Oil depots, wharves, troopships, dockyards, the State ammunition dump in Bantry Bay and flying-boat base in Rose Bay were all patrolled by the VCP until war's end. In 1940 the Patrol had some 500 vessels and 2,000 members on its register. The VCP continued to operate in the post-war period in a purely voluntary capacity, constituting an important element in national security. Its objectives were rewritten to make the organisation of value to the country in times of emergency as well as peace, by making waterways safer for yachtsmen and by setting an example to all those on the water. In 1974 Her Majesty the Queen bestowed the 'Royal' prefix to the Volunteer Coastal Patrol. While the VCP was originally designed to use properly equipped privately owned vessels, in the 1980s this became unfeasible and the Patrol now owns some 50 vessels. SignificanceThis pennant represents the work of the Volunteer Coastal Patrol and the 30-year voluntary service of the Commander Doug Watt.