HMAS SYDNEY Operation Falconer / Operation Catalyst Deployment, Arabian Gulf
Date2003
Object number00039882
NameBook
MediumInk on paper
Dimensions230 x 150 mm
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from John Blanchfield
DescriptionThis cruise book was produced by officers and sailors on board HMAS SYDNEY during its deployment to the Arabian Gulf between 8 April and 28 August 2003, as part of Operation Falconer and Operation Catalyst. On the front of the booklet is the gold crest of SYDNEY. Inside it contains maps outlining the deployment to the Arabian Gulf, details of the careers of all three previous SYDNEY ships and statistical information about SYDNEY IV. The vessel served in both Gulf Wars and won a Meritorious Unit Citation in 1991.HistoryHMAS SYDNEY IV is one of six guided missile frigates in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Commissioned in 1983, SYDNEY IV is a long range escort with the ability to provide area air defence, anti-submarine and anti-shipping warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and interdiction. It is the fourth ship to carry the name Sydney and is the proud inheritor of more battle honours than any other RAN unit including EMDEN 1914, CALABRIA 1940, SPADA 1940, MEDITERRANEAN 1940, KORMORAN 1941 and KOREAN OPERATIONS 1951-2.
SYDNEY has been deployed to the Middle East as part of Australia's commitment to Middle East peace. On the first occasion, the vessel took part in Operation Desert Storm, the action against Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War for which SYDNEY earned a Meritorious Unit Citation. SYDNEY later supported UN sanctions against Iraq in 1991/92 and 1993. In 1999 and 2000 SYDNEY IV was deployed to East Timor in support of INTERFET and the efforts to bring peace to the Solomon Islands. Its fourth deployment to the Middle East was during the Iraq War in 2003 in support of allied forces. During SYDNEY's 105 days in the area of operation, SYDNEY's crew conducted 30 UN inspections of merchant traffic as they transited in and out of Iraq, along with an additional 10 non-compliant boardings.
It has been a naval tradition for ship's crews to document the events of a deployment for private use. Known as a cruise book, these unofficial publications provide a pictorial history outlining the daily life and voyages of a ship's crew. Similar to scrapbooks or yearbooks, they are compiled by the officers and sailors of a ship or unit and published by a local printing firm for private distribution. Cruise books are often paid for by subscription from crew members or from proceeds of the ship's store.
The HMAS SYDNEY IV cruise book pictorially documents the crew's departure from Sydney on 8 April 2003, including its port visits to Perth, Diego Garcia, Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait and Colombo. It provides details of various crew members including officers of the watch, coxswains, clearance divers, operations crew, communications crew and weapons electrical engineering crew carrying out their duties. The book also features poems, facts and figures, deployment statistics, messages of gratitude and congratulations from higher commands including the Chaplain, Weapons Electrical Engineering Officer, Marine Engineering Officer, Supply Officer and Flight Commander, and a space for autographs. Importantly, the cruise book contains photographs and text relating to the activities of SYDNEY's crew both at work and at play during its four month deployment to the Arabian Gulf; for instance there are candid shots of crew relaxing onboard ship, playing touch football, getting up close with local wildlife in Colombo and unwinding at port in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Indeed, as CMDR Michael van Balen writes in his Commanding Officer's address:
"In many ways the collage of photographs speak louder and more eloquently than any words could possible [sic] hope to achieve. These same pictures give us the opportunity to associate ourselves not only with the ship but also with all that transpired during the deployment. The pictures give us bragging rights, the means by which we can show our family and friends what it is we have been doing and let them in on what has been an important part of our lives, and judging by some of the photos, it gives us the opportunity to show parts of our personalities that other people don't normally see … As such this publication is in no small way a fitting testament to the 228 individuals embarked in SYDNEY during the commission of 2003, who made it all work so well."SignificanceThis booklet had a limited distribution and represents HMAS SYDNEY (IV) and its crew. The unofficial publication offers a valuable insight into the daily lives, personalities, voyages and camaraderie of SYDNEY's crew during their deployment to the Middle East in 2003.
