Model of boiler, HMAS STALWART
Date1978
Object number00026021
NameModel
MediumMetal, plastic, timber, glass
DimensionsOverall: 540 x 335 x 410 mm
ClassificationsModels
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Ross McNamara
DescriptionThis model of the boiler from HMAS STALWART was made by members of the Fleet Maintenance Unit on board the ship and was presented to Commander John Kevin McNamara as a retirement gift in 1978. He joined the RAN in 1956 and primarily served in the Engineering Units, reaching the rank of Engineer-Lieutenant Commander. With a humorous twist, the model was manufactured to be a dispenser for alcohol, whilst also being a fairly accurate representation of STALWART'S Admiralty 3-drum boiler.
HistoryHMAS STALWART was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 9 February 1968, having been built at Cockatoo Island Dockyard. The destroyer was designed and equipped to provide repair and support facilities for up to four destroyers or frigates simultaneously. STALWART'S evaporators were capable of producing up to 350 tons of condensed fresh water from the sea each day. An Admiralty 3-drum steam boiler was fitted to provide steam for the evaporators' domestic use and for ships alongside. HMAS STALWART was designed and built to service other vessels in the naval fleet, so they could sustain lengthy operations without returning to shore bases. STALWART served in Australian and Asian waters as well as Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
The crew played a key role in the rescue operations named 'Operation Navy Help' following the devastation wrought upon Darwin by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve in December 1974 and assisted with relief operations in Honiara in June 1986. STALWART hosted a parliamentary cabinet meeting in September 1986. The ship STALWART was decommissioned in 1990 and sold. In 2003 it was renamed TARA and arrived at the well known shipbreaking town of Alang in India and was destroyed.
The consumption of alcohol has been an integral part of naval life for centuries. The issuing of rum to Royal Navy sailors lasted from 1687 to 1970 - one of the longest traditions in seafaring history. The Royal Australian Navy provided either rum or beer to its personnel upon formation in 1911. The daily liquor ration was abolished by the RAN in 1921 and the Royal Navy in 1970. However beer was permitted under certain rules. In 1978, the year of Commander McNamara's retirement, it was reported in NAVY NEWS that each member of STALWART'S crew consumed on average some two and a half cans of beer per day during a 20-day deployment.
SignificanceThe construction of this unusual model shows the technical skills of the Fleet Engineering Maintenance Unit, whilst also illustrating the comraderie and humour that existed between the crew and Commander McNamara aboard HMAS STALWART in 1978.
Before 1857
