HMAS PARRAMATTA Silver Jubilee Anniversary port

Date1986

Object number00051744

NameJug

MediumCeramic

DimensionsOverall: 195 x 102 mm

ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from the family of Henry 'Jim' Ramsbottom

Terms

DescriptionIntact ceramic jug of port, with stopper, celebrating HMAS PARRAMATTA DE 46 Silver Jubilee, July 1961-1986. HMAS PARRAMATTA was a River class destroyer escort built for the Royal Australian Navy and commissioned in July 1961. This jug of port was made to commemorate the ship's 25th anniversary in 1986. On one side it bears the badge of the PARRAMATTA with the motto Strike Deep; on the reverse there is a section of text titled: 25 Years Preserving the Peace, which cites a brief history of the three RAN vessels to bear the name PARRAMATTA.HistoryHMAS PARRAMATTA was the first of six River class destroyer escorts built for the RAN, it was commissioned at Sydney on 4 July 1961 under the command of CMDR G.R. Griffiths DSC RAN. PARRAMATTA completed several overseas deployments, including active service during the Vietnam War, escorting HMAS SYDNEY (III) to Vung Tau, Vietnam, in 1965, 1968 and 1971. It also carried out patrol duties between 1964 and 1966 during the Indonesian Confrontation, and was diverted to Bali in July 1976 to provide humanitarian relief following a devastating earthquake. Perhaps her most distinguished early career highlight was the escort of the Royal Yacht BRITANNIA during the visit of Her Majesty the Queen in 1963. PARRAMATTA spent four years decommissioned while modernisation and a complete refit were carried out at Williamstown Naval Dockyard, and was recommissioned on 26 August 1981. Highlights of this second phase of her career included a rare visit to the Peoples Republic of China in 1986 and participation in the 1986 Royal Australian Navy 75th Anniversary Naval Review (the same year in which she celebrated her Silver Jubilee) and the Bicentennial Naval Salute in 1988. The RAN eventually replaced the River class destroyer escorts with the Adelaide class guided missile frigates, and PARRAMATTA was decommissioned on 11 January 1991. SignificanceThis port jug celebrates the 25h anniversary of HMAS PARRAMATTA.