HMAS WARREGO II Christmas card

Artist Frank Norton (1916-1983)

Date1944

Object number00018381

NameCard

MediumInk, card

DimensionsOverall: 109 x 102 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis Christmas card was issued in 1944 for use by the officers and men of HMAS WARREGO, a Grimsby class sloop. Inside the card is a black print which features HMAS WARREGO with a canoe at its bow at Morotai. The print was by artist Frank Norton, who served in WARREGO. The card also features the ship's emu badge, and a generic printed Christmas message inside.HistoryHMAS WARREGO was a Grimsby class sloop of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Laid down at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney on 15 May 1939, WARREGO (the second RAN ship to carry the name) was launched on 10 February 1940 by Mrs Pattie Menzies, wife of the Prime Minister, and commissioned into the RAN on 22 August 1940. WARREGO was engaged in mine sweeping operations in Australian waters during 1940; and then sailed to Darwin in 1941 for anti-submarine and escort duties. On 19 February 1942 Japanese planes attacked Darwin. WARREGO miraculously avoided damage during the attack. She sailed to Sydney for a refit in May 1942. WARREGO then participated in various anti-submarine patrols and escort convoys from Townsville to New Guinea, Thursday Island to Darwin, and later Onslow to Darwin. After a refit in Brisbane in 1943, she resumed convoy duties as well as survey duties in New Guinea in 1944 and the Philippines in 1945. WARREGO also contributed to the successful Australian troop landing at Borneo in July 1945. After World War II WARREGO conducted surveys off Tasmania and Queensland until 1949 when she was returned to Sydney. WARREGO was recommissioned in June 1951 and undertook various survey operations in Australian waters until she was decommissioned in August 1963. WARREGO was sold two years later, and broken up in 1966 at Rozelle Bay, Sydney. HMAS WARREGO (II) earned the following Battle Honours - Darwin 1942, Pacific 1941-45, New Guinea 1942, Lingayen Gulf 1945, and Borneo 1945.SignificanceThis Christmas card reflects the movements and operations of HMAS WARREGO during World War II. The illustration of HMAS WARREGO at Morotai which features in the card reminds us of the involvement of Australian forces in operations in Borneo, for which Morotai was a key staging point.