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HMAS MILDURA - The Ship's History | |
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| HMAS Mildura was first laid down on September 23rd at Morts
Dock and Engineering Co.Pty.Ltd, Balmain, Sydney. She was 186 feet long, beam 31 feet, displaced 650 tons, with a draught of only 8 feet 6 inches. Originally designed for a crew of 85, this number increased during the war to over 100. Her maximum speed was 15 knots. The armament consisted of 1x4 inch gun, 3x20mm Oerlikons, 1x40mm Bofors machine gun, and depth charge chutes and throwers. The Mildura was launched on 15 March, 1941 by Mrs.J.Durnford, wife of the Second Naval Member. The ship was commissioned at Sydney on July 23, 1941 under the command of Lieutenant George E.V.G.Owen, RANR (S). Active war service included convoy escort duties between Australia and Noumea, east coast convoys, minesweeping and anti-piracy patrols around New Guinea, Borneo and China. The Mildura was the first allied ship to enter Hong Kong. At the end of the war, the Mildura was kept busy on mine sweeping. On January 20 1948, the Mildura was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Careening Bay, Garden Island, Western Australia. The ship was brought back into service on February 20th, 1951, as a training ship for National Service trainees. Duties included carrying materials for the British atomic tests in the Monte Bello Islands. She was finally paid off in Melbourne on September 11, 1953. The Mildura had steamed a corvette record of 208,132 miles, the equivalent of 10 times around the world. The tug HMAS Sprightly towed the Mildura to Brisbane in December 1954 for use as an immobilised Reserve training ship. The ship was finally sold on September 8, 1965, as scrap to Brisbane Non-Ferrous Pty.Ltd.
For further information contact hmasmildura@hotmail.com
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