A MUSICAL VOYAGE - Royal Australian Navy

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The RAN Band is renowned for trying something different, therefore the initiative to
provide entertainment prior to the Dawn Service and on completion of the Lone Pine
Service should come as no surprise. To see approximately 8,000 Aussies at Lone Pine doing
the ‘Mexican wave’ while singing out the chorus’s of “I am Australian” and “Khe Sanh”, is
something that will remain in my memory bank for along time. It has also set precedence
for service bands that represent our nation at Gallipoli in future.
Another significant highlight for me as the Officer in Charge was the comradely displayed
between all elements of the contingent to help each other to get the job done. The
members of the Australia’s Federation Guard would not hesitate to give a hand to us when
moving equipment and conversely the musicians were always willing to assist the Guard
when required. This made for easy management. It was also pleasing to see everyone mix
socially as well!
Although the deployment was a real team effort I must personally congratulate Able
Seaman Beth Winterhalter for her renditions of the bugle calls at both services which she
performed under extreme pressure, both professionally and in pretty tough weather
conditions. I can honestly say that in 25 years service in the Royal Australian Navy I don’t
recall hearing better. Also congratulations to Able Seaman Damian Dowd for his vocal work
and entertainment value; a legend in his own right! It would also be remiss of me not to
thank Leading Seaman Aaron Geeves for his commitment in organising the jazz and rock
ensembles and Petty Officer Kara Williams for the assistance she readily gave me. A
member who didn’t deploy but I would like to pay tribute to is Leading Seaman Nat Pollard.
Thank you for allowing us to play your composition “Crimson Sand” which I believe you
wrote specifically for this occasion. It was a perfect prelude to all of the commemoration
services and received much favourable comment from many including the Minister of
Defence, the Australian Ambassador to Turkey and the Chief of Air Force.
I believe a key measure of success is the positive feedback that you receive. If this is a
reflective statement then the RAN Band overwhelmingly accomplished its mission at
Gallipoli 2004.
Finally, on a personal note I would like to thank the Director for “volunteering” me for the
deployment and to the Commandant at the Defence Force School of Music for approving me
to attend. All in all it was a wonderful experience and an honour to a part of a deployment
of such national significance.
Article by Petty Officer Kara Williams
The 2004 Gallipoli contingent arrived in Dubai a little over 14 hrs after departing Sydney
two hours late a little bit worse for wear and ready for the opportunity to either shop or
drop for a few hours! The plane from Dubai to Istanbul was also delayed and a 4 ½ hour
journey was eased out over a few more hours! This wasn’t really a problem as the
hospitality of the private Maharbar lounge at the airport provided by Emirates Airlines made
everyone more than comfortable!
Our arrival into Istanbul was met with knife blade precision. The freight was offloaded and
our luggage and passports fast tracked while we sat in the VIP lounge of the airport
receiving introductions to key personnel and briefs on security, our accommodation and the
next day’s activities. A very interesting sight it must have been for the local guides and
Military staff assigned to us to see 30 bleary-eyed travel weary military personnel shuffling
themselves off the airport bus and into the VIP lounge!
The need for an alarm clock was painfully undercut as the local Mosque (a block or so away)
started “call to prayer” at around 5am! Was it 5am? Already?! The early wake up call was
quickly forgone to the sight of the culinary delights spread from one corner of the hotel
restaurant to the other for our breakfast dining pleasure! I’m not so sure I would get used
to olives, cheeses, large amounts of pickled meats or tomato and cucumber for breakfast,
but the choice for us Aussies in the form of cereals, eggs, sausages, fruits, yoghurt, breads
and spreads and the most wonderful teas and coffee were aplenty!
Royal Australian Navy Band: A Musical Voyage