HMAS Moresby (formerly HMS Silvio) was a 24-class

24 class sloop

The 24 class was a class of minesweeping sloops. Derived from the preceding , but designed to appear double-ended. Twenty-four ships to this design were ordered between December 1916 and April 1917 under the Emergency War Programme for the Royal Navy in World War I, although two of them were...

 (also known as Racehorse class) "Fleet Sweeping" sloop

Sloop-of-war

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

 that served in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 (RN) and Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 (RAN) as a minesweeper, anti-submarine vessel, and survey ship. The ship was involved in both World Wars, and was the venue of the Japanese surrender of Timor

Timor

Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...

 on 11 September 1945.

Design and construction

The 24 class were designed as minesweeping sloops capable of accompanying fleets on operations. As built, the vessels had a displacement of 1,320 tons, were 267 feet (81.4 m) in length, and had a standard ship's company of 82. The sloops were powered by coal-fuelled boilers connected to steam turbines. Although larger and roomier than preceeding designs, the 24 class had a reputation of poor seakeeping

Seakeeping

Seakeeping ability is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea states....

 capabilities.

The sloop was laid down as HMS Silvio, named after a British Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

-winning racehorse, by Barclay Curle

Barclay Curle

-History:The company was founded by Robert Barclay at Stobcross in Glasgow, Scotland during 1818. In 1862, the company built a large engineering works at Stobcross in Glasgow. In 1876, the company moved their yard down the river to Whiteinch. It was incorporated in 1884 as Barclay Curle...

 and Co Ltd at their Glasgow shipyard on 27 November 1917. She was launched on 12 April 1918, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 25 May 1918.

Royal Navy

On 25 July 1918, Silvio, , and three other warships were escorting a convoy when it came under attack by a U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 off the coast of Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

. All five escorts attacked the submarine, but none were successful in damaging it.

In 1925, Silvio was the last of five of the 24-class sloops to be converted to survey ships. In the same year, the ship was lent to the Australian Government to replace and assist in surveying throughout northern Australian waters, including a navigation channel through the Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...

. The ship was renamed and recommissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Moresby, after John Moresby

John Moresby

Captain John Moresby was a British Naval Officer who explored the coast of New Guinea and discovered the site of Port Moresby.Moresby was born in Allerford, Somerset, England, the son of Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby...

, on 20 June 1925. She departed England on 28 June, and arrived in Australia in September.

Royal Australian Navy

Moresby participated in the Great Barrier Reef survey until 21 December 1929, when she was decommissioned into reserve in Sydney.

She was recommissioned on 27 April 1933, to perform urgent strategic surveys of the waters north of Australia. During the 1930s, conditions for the sailors onboard were a matter of contention. Survey work was already arduous, but the ship had not been designed for tropical operations, causing greater discomfort. In addition, the sailors had experienced reductions in pay. Over the course of mid-1934, the number of sailors reported for discipline had increased. These issues came to a head in the early morning of 19 August, when an able seaman

Able seaman

An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...

 punched a petty officer

Petty Officer

A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...

 who admonished him for dirtying the ship's paintwork while attempting to move a crate, then insulted the seaman for dropping the crate when a support rope the petty officer was holding came loose. The able seaman was arrested and restrained in irons until the ship reached Darwin in two days time for a court martial. At breakfast, other sailors discussed the incident, with the idea of refusing the morning's call to work. 27 sailors ignored the bosun's call to work, and when confronted by the executive officer, said they were protesting against conditions and discipline aboard Moresby. After consultation between the captain and his officers, the sailors were informed that they would be charged by warrant (with their actions judged by the captain, instead of by a court martial). After returning to duty, the 27 sailors were later charged with "an act prejudicial of good order and naval discipline" and generally punished by the removal of merit and good-conduct badges. The Australian Commonwealth Naval Board

Australian Commonwealth Naval Board

The Australian Commonwealth Naval Board was the governing authority over the Royal Australian Navy from its inception and through World Wars I and II. The board was established on 1 March 1911 and consisted of civilian members of the Australian government as well as naval flag officers....

 felt that the captain's decision to charge by warrant was alarming, and felt the charges and punishment were an underreaction to what they considered an act of mutiny

Mutiny

Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...

. After an inquiry into the incident, six of the sailors, plus a seventh who had incited but not participated in the protest, were discharged from the navy, and provisions were made to restore sailor pay levels.
After the surveying exercises were completed, Moresby was returned to reserve on 14 December 1934 and her boilers were converted from coal to oil burning

Fuel oil

Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...

. Moresby was reconverted for survey work and recommissioned on 11 April 1935, returning to northern Australia until the beginning of World War II in September 1939. In May 1937, after the eruption of volcanoes of the Rabaul caldera

Rabaul caldera

Rabaul caldera is a large volcano situated in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. It derives its name from the town of Rabaul situated inside the caldera. The highest of its multiple peaks is ....

 resulted in the evacuation of Rabaul

Rabaul

Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...

 to nearby Kokopo

Kokopo

Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of the town increased more than sixfold from 3,150 in 1990 to 20,262 in 2000....

, Moresby was sent to New Britain

New Britain

New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...

 and instructed to provide any assistance necessary. The only need for the sloop was to transport provisions to the refugees.

During the first year of World War II, Moresby was used as an anti-submarine training vessel, a role she maintained until January 1941, when she was reassigned to survey duty in the waters of Australia and New Guinea. Following the Japanese attacks on the Allies

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

 in December 1941, the sloop was used as a convoy escort and anti-submarine vessel off the east coast of Australia. During the two years in this role, three of the convoys escorted by Moresby were attacked by Japanese submarines; December 1942 off Gabo Island

Gabo Island

Gabo Island is a 154 ha island located off the coast of eastern Victoria, Australia, between Mallacoota and Cape Howe on the border with New South Wales. It is separated from the mainland by a 500 m wide channel; access is available by arranged flights and boats...

 with no damage, April 1943 with the sinking of the Yugoslav vessel Recina and the loss of 32 of her crew, and May 1943 off the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 coast with SS Ormiston damaged but able to reach port. This two year period saw the greatest Japanese submarine activity off Australia's east coast

Axis naval activity in Australian waters

Although Australia was remote from the main battlefronts, there was considerable Axis naval activity in Australian waters during the Second World War. A total of 54 German and Japanese warships and submarines entered Australian waters between 1940 and 1945 and attacked ships, ports and other targets...

, with sixteen other ships sunk.

In November 1943, Moresby was reassigned to survey duties, and spent the rest of the war based in Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

. In September and October 1945, Moresby was assigned to a group of ships assisting the re-occupation of Timor

Timor

Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...

. The Japanese surrender of Timor was performed aboard Moresby on 11 September 1945. Moresby earned two battle honour

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 , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....

s for her wartime service: "Pacific 1942-43", and "New Guinea 1943-44".

After the ceremony, the sloop was sent to survey Yampi Sound

Yampi Sound

Yampi Sound is a part of the Indian Ocean off the coast of northwestern Australia, located between King Sound and Collier Bay. The islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago, located in the sound, contain rich silver and iron ore deposits. The high grade iron ore deposits has been mined in the Sound...

. On 4 October, a second mutiny occurred aboard Moresby. The overcrowded conditions (particularly when carrying passengers to the Timor surrender), difficulties of surveying work, tropical conditions, and bullying by the chief boatswain's mate (who had become the ship's disciplinarian after the master-at-arms

Master-at-arms

A master-at-arms may be a naval rating responsible for discipline and law enforcement, an army officer responsible for physical training, or a member of the crew of a merchant ship responsible for security and law enforcement.-Royal Navy:The master-at-arms is a ship's senior rating, comparable in...

 departed at the end of World War II) were them main factors in the sailors' spontaneous decision to barricade themselves into their mess deck instead of reporting for exercises. Several senior personnel, including the captain, repeated the order to report with no effect, but when the captain ordered the mess deck door to be unbarred and opened, those inside did so. Moresby returned to Darwin and an inquiry was held: the spontaneity of the mutiny meant that there were no ring-leaders to identify and court-martial, so the decision was made to charge all the leading seamen involved with failure to report for duty (with ten days imprisonment followed by transfer to other ships), while the other sailors were given ten days stoppage of leave (an effectively meaningless punishment, as the ship left Darwin after the inquiry, and did not enter a port until after the punishment had expired). This was the last incident in RAN history where personnel were charged for mutinous acts.

Decommissioning and fate

After completing the survey work, Moresby sailed to Sydney and was decommissioned into reserve for the final time on 14 March 1946, and was sold to Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd (BHP) for scrapping on 3 February 1947. After being towed to BHP's Newcastle works, Moresby was cut down until there was only 2 foot (0.6096 m) of freeboard. This 420-ton hulk was towed up the Hunter River

Hunter River

The Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major port....

, beached, and broken down into 30 feet (9.1 m) sections.