The superstructure now blotted out the view forward as the ship kept turning into the main shipping channel so Andrew made his way below to ‘lash up and stow’ his bedding, shower and shave (He was immensely proud of having to shave at 14!), and to dress in the work dress for the day (W 9s- Navy camouflage shirt and long trousers). Then he made his way to breakfast. He was a bit anxious about that, worrying about meeting Muriel, but she was nowhere in sight. Feeling somewhat relieved he collected a full breakfast of bacon and fried eggs with toast and sat with Jennifer, Tina and two boys from the starboard watch.
By the time Andrew had eaten it was time to quickly change into whites and to assemble on the flight deck again for entering harbour. By the time Andrew came on deck the ship was close in to the rock breakwaters which formed the artificial port for Townsville. For the next half hour he watched with great interest as the ship was swung, then berthed stern first to allow some of the army vehicles to be driven off via the stern ramp. Then he was granted the pleasure of feeling like an old salt when the Townsville Navy Cadets from TS ‘Coral Sea’ joined the ship.
There was also the pleasure of seeing friends among them, and of feeling comfortably superior, having been aboard much longer. In particular he greeted new recruit Martin Schipholl, whose big sister Letitia, nudist and flirt, was the object of many of his heated fantasies. Also with them was the really nice girl who had shared the adventures on Endeavour Island: Anne Maudsley. She had been Martin’s girl friend but from casual appearances the pair were now just friends. Not wanting to cause embarrassment Andrew did not pry.
By 0900 the Tobruk was on her way out of harbour again. The cadets were again stood to attention on the flight deck. As the ship steamed down the channel Andrew noted that the wind had dropped and with it the sea so that it was almost a glassy calm. The newly joined Townsville cadets were then taken off to have their safety briefings and guided tours while the Cairns cadets changed into camouflage work dress and were divided into four groups for training. Those cadets who were gunners were led right forward across the upper deck under the huge cranes and past the lashed down LCM8s to the focsle. Here they were introduced to two real 40mm Bofors guns and real navy gunnery instructors.
For the next three hours the cadets toiled and sweated: safety precautions, how the gun works, loading, unloading, aiming, ‘training’, misfire drills and stoppages, everything except actually firing, which of course the cadets all itched to do, or at least to see! Andrew enjoyed every second of it and made a conscious effort to imprint the knowledge and skills into his very being. When it was his turn to act as the gun aimer he was able to conjure up images of enemy planes diving on the ship, with him valiantly shooting them down. The only distractions that really took his focus away from the training were landmarks he noted while he was one of the group watching and waiting, there being too many cadets for two gun crews.
Thus he was able to study Cape Cleveland as they rounded it heading south, his mind filled with images from the dive trip a month earlier. By 1000 Cape Cleveland had slipped astern as the ship stood out to sea across the mouth of Bowling Green Bay. By the time they were level with the lighthouse on Cape Bowling Green they were so far out to sea that all Andrew could see was an occasional glimpse of the lighthouse itself, a tiny, white sliver, and mirage like dots which were the tops of trees on the flat, sandy spit.
Soon after that they passed, at a distance of about two miles to port, three large launches apparently anchored out in the open sea. Andrew suspected what they were but this was confirmed by Sub Lt Sheldon. “They are dive boats moored over the wreck of the Yongala,” he said. “That furthest one is Reefmaster.”
Andrew shielded his eyes against the glare and peered at the launches. In spite of himself he felt a surge of affection for the dive boat and realized he was glad he had done the advanced course. It gave him a real sense of achievement and pride in himself for having faced up to his fears and won. ‘But I don’t want to do any more diving,’ he told himself, shuddering at some of the memories.
Sub Lt Sheldon said, “Pity the sea wasn’t as kind as this when we were here. I’ve never dived on the Yongala. I’d really like to. Maybe we could organize another dive trip one weekend?”
At that Andrew swallowed and scratched around in his head for an excuse. What he did not want Sub Lt Sheldon to think was that he was a coward. “I liked the wreck we dived on sir,” he said. “That was really interesting.”
“Oh, the one your grandfather was on? Was it really the Deeral like you thought?” Sub Lt Sheldon asked.
“Yes it was sir,” Andrew answered. He described the way they had proved the identity of the wreck, but was very careful not to repeat any of his suspicions, nor to hint that he and Carmen were still interested in finding out what actually happened.
At 1200 the cadets were sent below to have lunch and rest. Luckily the port watch did not eat at the same time as starboard watch so he did not see Muriel. That made the break more relaxing and the friends could discuss the Bofors guns and training as well as tell jokes. Then they were called out again and mustered for more lessons.
The first lessons were on the .50 calibre machine gun. During the training Andrew noted the top of an isolated mountain many miles away to starboard. He suspected it was Cape Upstart and that got him thinking hard about the dives on the wreck of the Deeral. ‘What really did happen?’ he asked himself.
But his mind was soon taken off speculating about the past by the more interesting present of learning safety precautions and how the machine gun worked. Lessons on holding and aiming, on loading and firing followed. This time the cadets of both units were mustered at the starboard rail and the machine gun was actually fired. Much to Andrew’s regret this was done by the ship’s gunners and none of the cadets was allowed anywhere near it. Even so it was a thrill to hear the rat-a-tat-tat hammering of live rounds being fired, and to see the little pillars of white spray flung up by the bullets hitting the water.
That really got Andrew’s imagination going and he quickly conjured up a daydream of him manning the gun under fire and of beating off attacks by radio controlled explosive motor boats. These were sent in by fanatical terrorists who also tried to hit the Tobruk by firing guided missiles. Then he was brought back down to earth with a bump. The machine gun had to be cleaned- and the regular navy gunners were more than happy to instruct the cadets on how to do this while keeping their own hands clean! Andrew now learned some of the realities of gun oil and elbow grease.
Next was a first aid lesson which involved treating a dummy and then lashing it to a stretcher and hoisting it up several decks to the flight deck. While they were up there Andrew noted a rocky, conical island several miles to port. An enquiry of one of the navy POs elicited the information that it was Holbourne Island, off Bowen. For a few minutes Andrew studied the distant shore while pondering his grandfather’s fate.
After that they had a lesson on the fire fighting equipment so that by 1700 all of the cadets were feeling quite worn out. They were fallen out for the evening meal and then allowed a ‘stand easy’ till 1900. During that time Andrew went on deck with his chart and was rewarded by seeing islands appearing. He knew they must be approaching the famous Whitsunday group and was curious to see them. Having never been there, and only having read about them, he was keen to get a close look.
In particular he wanted to see Hayman Island. In this he was lucky on two counts. Firstly, several of the regular navy personnel, seeing his chart, came over and asked to look at it. They were then able to assure him they were in fact entering Whitsunday Passage and that the large mountainous island he could see to port was Hayman Island.
‘So Old Mr Murchison came ashore on the seaward side of that,’ Andrew mused. He looked around, noting how sheltered the passage was, and how many smaller islands there were. Several quite small boats were visible, either anchored or powering along, and that helped form his opinion. ‘It would be quite easy to get across to Hayman Island
from the mainland in a small boat,’ he decided.
While thinking such grim thoughts he had pointed out to him the equally famous Daydream Island. ‘I must go there one day,’ he decided. That got him remembering the holiday on Endeavour Island in April. The memories of all the sex and nudity he had seen caused him to became quite aroused and then guilty when Carmen and Tina both joined him. For the next hour they sat and admired the sunset amid the beautiful scatter of islands.
By 1900 the ship was well down the passage and passing Hamilton Island with its famous tourist resort. Darkness was setting in by then and the resort was plain to see by the twinkle of its lights. Evening lessons began- more fire fighting and first aid. Training ended at 2100 and they were allowed to go to the canteen. That was the only time Andrew really saw Muriel at all that day. He met her at the entrance to the canteen and she at once looked away and walked past him without a word.
Feeling very mixed emotions, with the hurt of rejection predominating, he went in to the canteen. There he had to pretend that everything was normal while he talked and joked with his friends. For the next two hours the cadets had to remain in the rec spaces or mess decks. The standing order about no personnel on the upper deck after dark prevented Andrew from looking out for more islands such as Brampton, much to his regret.
The Tobruk entered Mackay harbour just before 2300 hrs but again all cadets were kept inside so all they could do was talk and tell jokes while imagining what was going on. The ship was swung and then berthed and the main engines eased back to a distant vibration. Lt Ryan, the XO, of the unit, then appeared and got them all moving. Lugging their kitbags they shuffled wearily along the steel passageway and then down the long gangway to the wharf.
On the wharf, under the glare of floodlights, kitbags were tossed up into a truck. The cadets were then shepherded into waiting coaches. By then Andrew was feeling decidedly jaded and was glad to be able to slump into the seat beside Simmo. Despite being tired however he remained interested and looked back at the Tobruk with real affection. It had only been 30 hours but it had confirmed for him that the navy was the place he wanted to be.
For Simmo it had had the opposite effect. “I found it too claustrophobic,” he admitted. “All closed in with no windows or portholes and hardly any doors. If it was wartime I don’t think I could stand it.”
“I’m not sure if I could either,” Andrew confessed. It was certainly sobering food for thought and not something he had been aware of until it was brought to his notice.
The coaches moved off and drove via North Mackay and across the Pioneer River to the cadet multi-user depot. Here they debussed and lined up to unload the truck. When everyone had found their kitbag and hand luggage they were led inside. Andrew found it was a large hall with offices, classrooms, kitchen and storerooms around the sides. As the facility was shared with the Army Cadets half of the offices were locked. Areas along the sides had been screened off with Hessian and plywood screens. These were the living areas.
After a quick safety brief the cadets were allocated to living areas by courses and then taken to their bunks by guides. They were shown the location of the showers and toilets and then told to get to bed. As it was well after midnight by then Andrew was more than willing to obey. He was feeling genuinely tired, though still excited. Within minutes of sliding into his sleeping bag he had slipped into a deep and dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER 26
QMGs COURSE
Harsh cries and the shrilling of Bosun’s pipes wrenched a bleary eyed Andrew from sleep. Nearby stood a lad he had never seen before, a petty officer by his rank badges. He was shouting a polite variation of the traditional navy call to get out of bed. “Wakey, wakey, wakey! Into your eights and don’t be late. Wakey, wakey, wakey! Show a leg there! Out you get and lash up and stow.”
With a groan Andrew sat up and looked around. From two long rows of stretchers which lined the screened off male cadets sleeping area tousled and sleepy heads appeared. The petty officer strode along giving kicks to the legs of any stretchers whose occupants did not show definite signs of waking up.
“Out you get! Get yourselves decent and get on parade for roll call,” he barked.
This was what Andrew expected and he had no problem with it. Slipping his feet into his sandshoes he hurried out to the parade area. That meant seeing Muriel but he avoided direct eye contact. Instead he gave Carmen a smile and waved to Anne Maudsley and Jennifer. He even gave an anxious looking Tina Babcock a sympathetic nod.
So began Andrew’s Quartermaster Gunners Course. For the next week he threw himself into the training, hardly thinking about the mystery of his long-dead grandfather’s disappearance. The only real fly in his ointment was Muriel. Still hoping to somehow regain her favour he stayed away from her. When they did meet he gave her a friendly nod and smile but made no overt moves to restore their relationship.
‘Time for that after the course,’ he told himself. Besides, fraternization was strongly frowned on so he kept a distant state of friendship with the girls. It was made easier by the fact that Muriel was doing a seamanship course. The way the camp was organized grouped cadets from all three units: TS ‘Endeavour’; TS ‘Coral Sea’ and TS ‘Pioneer’, into their specializations. Thus Muriel was gone most of the day, sailing and canoeing.
For Andrew most of the camp was in the depot or its grounds. The QMG Course only had 12 cadets on it, so Andrew soon knew all their names. His close friends were all doing other courses but he did not really mind that. Blake was on the Seamanship and Coxswains Course, Simmo on the Technical Course and Luke on the Signals Course.
On the Sunday morning they had a parade for ‘colours’. Following that was an inspection of the living areas and dining mess, then administration and detailed briefings on safety, fire drills, ‘Out of Bounds’ and so on. The training sessions then began. For the QMG course this alternated between drill with arms and training with the Steyr rifle. The lessons followed the usual sequence but in great detail and with a lot of repetition so that the cadets became safe weapon handlers who were competent with the rifle. Safety precautions were followed by stripping and assembling, then cleaning. The afternoon drill was a rehearsal for the ‘Ceremonial Sunset’ parade that the course was to take part in on the last afternoon. The QMG Course was to provide the armed guard and Andrew was determined that he at least would not let the guard down by poor drill.
That evening the course had revision lessons on First Aid and Fire fighting. This included the cadets detailed as members of the fire fighting team donning flash protection and safety helmets and then testing the fire hoses in the compound outside. ‘Lights Out’ was at 2200 and a ‘Watch on Deck’ then mounted duty: 8 cadets under a cadet petty officer and with an adult officer as Duty Officer. They mounted guard at the door as the Duty Quartermaster and provided a fire and security sentry inside. It was a duty Andrew was looking forward to but he was thankful he wasn’t on that night as he was still tired from the voyage down.
Monday was similar except that the afternoon was spent on the water in ‘Corsairs’. This was to select the course crew for a sailing race between the courses on the Thursday. In the morning the drill and rifle training continued. There was marching, holding and aiming the rifle in the lying position, degrees of weapon readiness, unload and stoppages. The sailing was just fun and Andrew was pleased to be in one of the two crews selected. He was sure this was on the basis of all the sailing he had done over the previous few months. That night they had lessons, including a video of current naval weapon systems. The lessons were on the theory of naval gunnery and the types of guns in current service in the RAN.
By the time he went to sleep Andrew was really enjoying the camp. He had made new friends in both the Townsville and Mackay cadet units and was finding he could do all of the training well. He even dreamt about rifle training that night, only spoiled by one of his usual dreams where he ended up on a beach and the waves suddenly got bigger and bigger and suddenly he was washed
off his feet and sucked into deeper water by the backwash. He struggled to swim to shore but was carried rapidly out into deep water, with darkness setting in and the waves getting even bigger!
As usual the hands were called at 0600 the next morning. By 0800 all were standing in their divisions on the parade ground for colours. This time the QMG Course went on parade with their rifles and presented arms when the flags were hoisted. That made Andrew feel quite proud and he was glad he had chosen that course.
Tuesday’s training Andrew also found interesting. The morning was devoted to training as lookouts. This began with lessons on the care and use of binoculars and telescopes, then continued with practical training. For this the cadets were moved by bus to the harbour where they boarded a large civilian launch hired for a short sea trip. The Seaman and Coxswains Courses provided (under supervision) the people to handle the lines and to steer the launch. The Technical Course worked in the engine room and bridge, the Cooks worked in the galley and the Signallers got to practice communicating by flag, light, semaphore and various types of radio with a shore signal station at the end of the harbour breakwater, and with a team of instructors who moved by minibus from place to place along the shoreline.
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