A MUSICAL VOYAGE - Royal Australian Navy

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“I really enjoyed San Francisco in particular the Jazz Clubs and celebrating two birthdays
during the port visit. Sitting in with an ‘old time’ dance band playing at the Legions club in
Esquimalt (Canada) was a blast! I am looking forward to being warmer in San Diego and
getting home to see my girl.”
“The highlight of the HMAS Sydney trip for me was the opportunity to play with the
Canadian band on Remembrance Day. It was a great opportunity to see how other bands
work around the world and actually how many similarities there were between the two
Bands. It was also good to experience the Remembrance Day ceremony as this is very
similar to our ANZAC day. The Canadians were very welcoming of the Australian Sailors and
the contribution from the ship and the Band helped add to the occasion.”
Petty Officer Kara Williams
My own unique experiences have been too numerous to mention in detail without attaching
a novel of epic proportion (the unabridged diary of this deployment is available on
request!) The incredible seafood, sailing in bays surrounded by snow covered mountains
grasping at the shore, walking in the parks in Vancouver among amber and ruby festooned
foliage, finding a shop in San Francisco called “Kara’s Cupcakes” and riding trolley cars up
and down impossibly steep hills, picking up a bargain or seven, standing only metres away
from a wild deer on a Naval base, meeting a real Canadian Lumberjack and seeing real
Canadian Mounties, walking along one of the highest suspension bridges of its kind in the
world in the rain, watching the last globe of the sun dip beneath the edge of the sea filled
horizon, being up close and personal with beluga whales and giant sea otters, seeing actual
American police in a coffee and doughnut shop and experiencing cultures both very close
and at the same time completely alien to our own.
I would have to pick, at this point, being invited to participate in Canada’s Remembrance
Day on the 11 th of November in Victoria by the Canadian Forces (Naden) Band being the
most enjoyable so far. The hospitality and genuine warmth afforded us by both the Officer
in Command Lieutenant Byrne and his Band was overwhelming. I was almost embarrassed
by the generosity of spirit afforded by the CF(N) Band and the Canadians in general toward
their Australian compatriots- and it was made just impossible for us to buy our own drinks! I
would hope that one day we can repay their generosity; and some! It was somewhat bizarre
though; that at the opposite end of the globe there is a group of musicians an almost
carbon copy of ourselves. Like catching up with a close family member or old friend you
haven’t seen for ages, our embarked musicians and the CF(N) Band seemed to share an
undefined kindred spirit which invited a feeling of being ‘home’ thousands of miles from
home.
For us right now, it is back to doing laps of Nanoose Bay for more trials and thinking up
adventures for our next port visits. As this article is due before this deployment has ceased,
this is where the tales of 10 musicians must end. I am sure that those of San Diego, Hawaii
(visit number two) crossing the line, the entry back into Sydney and many other more
colourful details will be told in a detachment near you soon enough…….
HMAS ADELAIDE DEPLOYMENT
Article by Petty Officer Daniel Hobson
Early 2008 will see the decommissioning of the first ADELAIDE Class FFG, HMAS Adelaide. To
assist with her final overseas deployment, six musicians from the Sydney detachment of the
Royal Australian Navy Band were embarked. The Ships mission was to participate in
Exercise Malabar and visit ports in India, Thailand and Singapore.
The group consisted of a small jazz ensemble, and drum and bugle corps to enhance the
high profile Ceremonial Sunset and Cocktail Parties to be hosted onboard during our port
visits in India.
The first five members of the group joined the ship on the 18 th August and had a week to
adjust to the routines of ship life. This week was spent in the Western Australian Exercise
Area (WAXA) assisting in training for the submarine squadron. This was a harsh introduction
as the WAXA put on its typical rough weather to welcome us.
Royal Australian Navy Band: A Musical Voyage