HMAS ''Curlew'' (M 1121) was a operated by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

(as HMS ''Chediston'') from 1953 to 1961, and the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

from 1962 to 1991. During her Australian service, the ship operated off Malaysia during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation during the mid-1960s, then was modified for use as a

minehunter A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known as a ...

. Delays in bringing a replacement class into service kept ''Curlew'' operational until 1990, and she was sold into civilian service in 1991.

Construction

The minesweeper was built by the Montrose Shipyard in Scotland, launched on 6 October 1953, and commissioned into the

on 28 September 1954 as HMS ''Chediston''.Royal Australian Navy, ''HMAS Curlew''

Operational history

Royal Navy

Between August 1955 and October 1957, the ship was attached to Tay Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. After October 1957, the ship was placed in storage.

Royal Australian Navy

The ship was one of six sold to the

for

A£ The pound (Sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (denoted by the symbol s ...

5.5 million in 1961.Spurling, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 189 ''Chediston'' was modified for tropical conditions, and commissioned on 12 August 1962 as HMAS ''Curlew''. During the mid-1960s, ''Curlew'' was one of several ships operating in support of the Malaysian government during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. This service was later recognised with the

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

"Malaysia 1964–66". In the late 1960s, ''Curlew'' and sister ship were modified for use as

s.Jones, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 222 Divers from ''Curlew'' inspected the wreck of .

Decommissioning and fate

The delay in bringing the Bay class minehunters into service kept ''Curlew'' operational until 1990. ''Curlew''

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

on 30 April 1990 and was sold on 17 June 1991. In the late 1990s she appeared in the movies Paradise Road and The Thin Red Line. As of mid-2003, ''Curlew'' was operating out of Port Huon,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

as a fishing vessel.Australian Sea Heritage, ''Old ships find a new life'' The ship was later used for accommodation at Port Huon. In April 2018 she was purchased for $1. Her new owner intends to use the ship as a floating backpacker hostel in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Citations

References

Books

* * ** **

Journal articles

Websites

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Curlew Ton-class minesweepers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Scotland 1953 ships Cold War minesweepers of the United Kingdom Ton-class minesweepers of the Royal Australian Navy Cold War minesweepers of Australia Ships and vessels on the National Archive of Historic Vessels