HMAS Melville welcomed back into Cairns for last time before decommissioning
Friends and family have lined the wharf in Cairns welcoming home their loved ones aboard HMAS Melville as it entered the inlet for its last time before decommissioning.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Friends and family have lined the wharf in Cairns welcoming home their loved ones aboard HMAS Melville as it entered the inlet for its last time before it is decommissioned.
The vessel made her final passage sailing from one side of our vast continent to the other, from the Indian Ocean off Western Australia to the Pacific Ocean via the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, and finally through the Coral Sea.
With her crew lining her decks she made her last entry in to Trinity Inlet on Wednesday to a water cannon salute welcome.
Lucy Cahill and her three daughters were among the family who gathered to watch the ship return to Cairns with husband and father Damien Cahill on board.
“It’s a happy day and a bit of a relief to see them come back home in to Cairns,” she said.
“He has only been home about 17 days in the last eight months so it will be great to spend some time with his again.”
Ms Cahill said it can be hard on the family while Mr Cahill is away.
“He misses those milestone moments like our daughters first day of year 12 and just being around to help out and be together as a family.”
On its final mission Melville was deployed to the Indian Ocean and Timor Sea to contribute to the government’s Border Protection Operations, which commenced on January 15, a Defence spokesman said.
“It is a proud moment to sail into Cairns one last time as the crew of HMAS Melville and see her off in a way that acknowledges her esteemed contribution to Australia’s interests,” HMAS Melville Commander Ian McKellar said.
Commissioned on May 27, 2000, HMAS Melville is a Leeuwin-Class hydrographical survey ship.
She along with her sister ship HMAS Leeuwin have multi-beam echo sounders and the ability to support a helicopter, and carry three nine metre survey motor boats.
With less than half of the area around Australia surveyed to acceptable standards, these survey ships greatly reduce this figure, making passage of vessels safer and help to protect Australia’s ocean environment.
The RAN Hydrographic Service has responsibility for charting more than one eighth of the world’s surface, stretching as far west as Cocos Island in the Indian Ocean, east to the Solomon Islands, and from the Equator to the Antarctic.
After 24 years of service making passage of vessels safer and helping to protect Australia’s ocean environment, the ship is making way for a new, more advanced survey capability.
Melville’s workforce will move forward into deployable teams operating Undersea Autonomous Drones and associated systems.
More Coverage
Originally published as HMAS Melville welcomed back into Cairns for last time before decommissioning
‘Extreme force’: Prisoner assaulted by officer, whistleblowers claim
A prison officer threw an inmate against a wall then shouted at him as he lay cowering on the floor in a heated altercation that has outraged staff inside a Queensland correctional facility, whistleblowers say.
Former MP faces court over alleged brawl
A former Far North MP has faced court on assault and stalking charges after police allege he was involved in a brawl that left a 32-year-old man in hospital.