Skip to main content
Advanced Search
In for a dip off the ship, HMAS MELBOURNE
In for a dip off the ship, HMAS MELBOURNE

In for a dip off the ship, HMAS MELBOURNE

Date1926
Object number00029054
NamePhotograph
MediumBlack and white photographic print on paper.
DimensionsOverall: 70 x 110 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Philip Stafford Jay
Description'During MEBOURNE'S sojourn with the British Fleet in the Mediterranean, it was the custom, whilst at sea, to stop engines and pipe "hands to bathe" at 16:00 [4pm] every day. This shows them enjoying it'. Philip Jay, ex Petty Officer, RAN An inscription on the back of the photograph identifies the man climbing up the rope as Philip Jay.HistoryHMAS MELBOURNE left Australia on 23 November 1925 for England, reaching Portsmouth on 30 March 1926. For part of 1926 it was assigned to the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet on exchange, returning to Australia in August of that year to resume its duties as flagship. In 1928 it returned to England to be decommissioned and broken up, its crew assigned to the new HMAS AUSTRALIA.SignificanceGILLETT, R. `AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND WARSHIPS 1914-1945'. LANE COVE, NSW: DOUBLEDAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD. 1983.