Certificate of Discharge from Naval Expeditionary Force : Petty Officer Frank Hamilton, 5 March 1915

Printer Royal Australian Navy (Printing)

Date1915

Object number00004150

NameCertificate

MediumInk on parchment

DimensionsOverall: 185 x 210 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Ian Hamilton

Terms

Australia

DescriptionPreserved by his family for over 70 years, this certificate of discharge is a link to Frank Hamilton's service during World War I. As part of a combined expeditionary force raised in Sydney in 1914, Hamilton played a part in the capture of German held territories in New Guinea and adjacent Pacific Islands before later joining the AIF.HistoryFollowing the outbreak of World War I, the British government sought to neutralise the German colonies in New Guinea and adjacent Pacific islands. For this purpose an expeditionary force consisting of six companies of naval reservists plus an infantry battalion with additional machine gun, signalling and medical sections was formed in Sydney under the command of Colonel William Holmes. This combined force was embarked at Cockatoo Island aboard the P&O ship SS BERRIMA on 19 August 1914 and, convoyed by the cruiser HMAS SYDNEY (1) and destroyers YARRA and WARREGO north to Rabaul. There they rendezvoused with the battle cruiser HMAS AUSTRALIA. The Australian troops landed on 12 September and after a campaign lasting only a few days, accepted the German surrender of New Guinea. By the end of the year the German territories in New Guinea, Nauru, the Admiralty Islands and German Solomon Islands had capitulated and these areas remained under Australian control for the rest of the war. Frank Hamilton joined the expedition as a 20 year old naval reservist. After returning to Australia in 1915 he was demobilised from the Royal Australian Naval Brigade, selecting to join the AIF, 30th Battalion. He served until August 1919. After the war, Hamilton purchased a motor launch and became a boatman on Sydney Harbour.SignificanceThis Royal Australian Naval discharge certificate relating to the service of Petty Officer Frank Alwyn Hamilton highlights the important role played by reservists in the first decades after Australian Federation.