HMAS VAMPIRE Christmas card
Date1964
Object number00044924
NameCard
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 100 x 140 mm, 10.52 g
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Mick Roberts
DescriptionThis Christmas card was sent to the parents of a sailor onboard HMAS VAMPIRE in 1963-64. The card was produced during one of VAMPIRE's deployments to the Far East Strategic Reserve and depicts an Asian vessel sailing next to the crest of the VAMPIRE.
Christmas cards such as this were produced by the ship's company for distribution to their friends and family. They provided servicemen with a tangible link to home during a time of year that is traditionally about family.HistoryHMAS VAMPIRE is a ship from another era, being the last of the big destroyers built in Australia at the former premier shipbuilding facility on Cockatoo Island. Constructed between 1952 and 1956, it was the last of three Daring class destroyers built and launched in Australia. Together VAMPIRE and the other two Darings, VENDETTA and VOYAGER formed the 10th Destroyer Squadron. HMAS VAMPIRE served in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from its commission in 1959 to its final decommission in 1986, and undertook a variety of roles including regular deployments, joint operations and exercises with other navies, SEATO operations off Singapore during the Indonesian Confrontation, and escorting ships taking troops to Vietnam. It ended its naval career as a training ship for the RAN. Initially on loan to the Australian National Maritime Museum from the Department of Defence, it was transferred outright in 1997 and remains a popular exhibit at the Museum.SignificanceThis card is representative of HMAS VAMPIRE and the types of communication that servicemen had with their families. VAMPIRE is currently moored in Darling Harbour, Sydney and is one of the Australian National Maritime Museum's most popular exhibits.
5 January to 28 June 1979
