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10:03AM Friday 29 August, 2008 Sunshine Coast weather Possible shower min 12° - max 22°

Navy vets meet up

8 August 2008

A group of former Royal Australian Navy veterans last weekend remembered the part they played in the Indonesian Conflict of the 1960s at a reunion in Noosa.

The 16th Minesweeping Squadron staged its reunion at the Australis Noosa Lakes Resort and members of the HMAS Hawk, Curlew, Gull, Ibis, Teal and Snipe gathered to reminisce about the time from 1964-66 when naval power was used to support fighting ashore around the newly formed nation of Malaysia.

Rod Clarey, a seaman aboard the Ibis during the confrontation, said the reunion was an opportunity for former crew members to get together and share memories of the time.

“We were there for 261 days and of those, 219 were spent at sea,” he said.

“We kept two watches, four on and four off, 24 hours a day.

“I was a cook from 8am to 8pm and then I would hand over to another cook before going up to the upper deck and manning the guns or steering the ship as a helmsman,’’ Mr Clarey said.

“Everyone had to fulfil those routines, and there were 36 of us on board ... but you got used to it because you had to, and you relied on each other.”

Mr Clarey said two sailors were killed during the confrontation and 18 others were injured.

He said the reunion was also a chance for the remaining servicemen to remember their fallen comrades.

Members of the squadron took part in a reunion dinner on Saturday night before staging a march to the Tewantin Cenotaph on Sunday.

The former Navy personnel conducted a memorial service and wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph before hosting a reunion lunch at the Australis Noosa Lakes Resort.

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