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Photograph of a Royal Australian Navy General Purpose Vessel, possibly GPV961 ALBATROSS
Photograph of a Royal Australian Navy General Purpose Vessel, possibly GPV961 ALBATROSS

Photograph of a Royal Australian Navy General Purpose Vessel, possibly GPV961 ALBATROSS

Date1954
Object numberANMS1337[032]
NamePhotograph
MediumBlack and white photographic print on paper.
DimensionsOverall: 63 x 90 x 1 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from William Hamment
DescriptionPhotographic album consisting of forty-five pages compiled by Petty Officer Harry Owen Hamment during his service in the RAN, it contains photographs and postcards pasted on each page. Accompanying loose photographs are stored at the back of the album. The photographs depict a Crossing of the Line Ceremony, HMAS SYDNEY III and members of the ship's crew in Papua New Guinea. The postcards were collected in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea between November 1953 and June 1954. Brief handwritten inscriptions accompany many of the postcards.HistoryHarry Owen Hamment was born on 21 June 1927 in the town of Hamilton, New South Wales. He joined the Royal Australian Navy on 26 May 1952 and served for a six year period. He initially trained at HMAS CERBERUS and was transferred to HMAS PENGUIN in April 1953. He joined the RAN's flagship HMAS AUSTRALIA in May 1953. Hamment joined the crew of the aircraft carrier HMAS SYDNEY III in 1953 and worked as an Engine Room Artificer. He passed the relevant exams and was granted his Engine Room Watch Certificate in June 1954. The vessel was serving in Korean waters as part of the United Nations operation from late 1953 until June 1954. During this period HMAS SYDNEY III visited Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong and Japan while enroute to and from Korea. Petty Officer Hamment was assigned to HMA BARCOO, HMA TARANGAU, FREMANTLE and ALBATROSS during the second half of his naval career. He was discharged from the RAN in May 1958, having served for a six year period.SignificanceThe postcards document the tourist attractions visited by the crew of HMAS SYDNEY III during port visits in Asia in the 1950s. Local temples, streetscapes and scenes of traditional customs and life in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan are represented on the postcards. The photographs provide information about the experiences of Australian sailors when participating in naval training and when serving on HMAS SYDNEY III. Other photographs document their expereinces observing and meeting the local people in unidentified areas of New Guinea.