Newsletter

Project Update 

Since the last Newsletter a number of issues have been progressed and not least of which has been the Incorporation of the Project. This is an important step as it gives the project status in law, provides some protection to the committee in that sense but also and more importantly allows the project to access funds from a variety of official sources such as government instrumentalities that require a degree of legal protection to funds that may be donated to the project. 

Application has also been made with the Tax Office to access an Australian Business Number. This will, when required, allow the project to recover Goods and Services Tax where it is has been paid by the Memorial Fund. 

Contributions continue to be received and at this early stage of the project we are achieving a less than promising rate of contribution and will need to work a little harder to attract funds if we are to achieve what we set out to do. It will be up to the Ex JR Community to keep the momentum up with the cash flow and try to influence the ex service community in general that this project is a worthy one that deserves support. 

The Committee has written to the City of Fremantle’s Mayor seeking assistance. Their reply was extremely favourable and we will approach them formally in due course and to gain a donation.  

We have also made approaches to the WA Government through one of its Ministers (he is a former Navy man) and will seek financial support from them when advised of the appropriate channels. 

The RAN Central Canteens Fund has funds that may be applied to the project in the form of a grant. The Committee will need to apply formally to that fund but given that the many ex JR’s would have made significant purchases through ships canteens over the years the fund may well look on the project favourably, that is we may have already paid. 

Approaches have also been made to the various Senior Sailor Messes in RAN establishments seeking their financial support. There are many ex JR’s still serving who are members of these messes and we are hoping that they will rally to the call and make contributions to the fund. 

22nd Intake Reunion 

“The 22nd JRTE Intake (January to December 1968) held their fortieth anniversary reunion in Fremantle over the weekend of 28 to 30 March 2008. Almost 200 ex JR’s and their spouses attended, travelling from all parts of Australia and from the United States and Thailand. A ‘Meet and Greet’ at Rosie O’Grady’s in Fremantle on the Friday night was followed by a Saturday tour of HMAS STIRLING and HMAS PERTH and the principal reunion functions of a tour of some areas of Leeuwin Barracks and a dinner at the nearby Swan Yacht Club. A feature of the Leeuwin tour was a ‘march past’ on the parade ground and, given the years that have passed since the graduation the standard of drill was surprisingly high! A highlight of the dinner was the presence and fine performance of a 14-piece RANR jazz ensemble. The final reunion event was a brunch at Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle. 

The excellent news is that in addition to having what seems to have been a great time, over the weekend the 22^nd Intake raised more than $1000 for the memorial project. Well done the 22^nd. Congratulations and thank you very much. You have set a great benchmark that the Committee hopes will be matched by all other JRTE intakes.”  

Just $10 from each Ex JR and we will make it happen 

Keep the money coming

 What can other intakes do to raise funds? 

For some intakes the organisational structure is already in place, where that exists then we would ask that your central organisational committee look into how your group can give meaningful support to this work. Just a small amount of effort in this regard across the full breadth of the intakes will achieve significant results. As a general benchmark we need just $10 for each ex JR. That amount at most clubs will not buy two beers. Can you afford the cost of two beers?  I am sure you can and when we bring it all together the heritage of the Junior Recruit Scheme will be preserved. 

Memorial Materials 

A number of different options are being investigated and include bronze castings of a JR as well as granite that is either carved or etched with the figure in uniform. 

The technology that is available to masons in this day and age is quite sophisticated and quite startling images can be reproduced. For those who have visited to Vietnam War Memorial in Canberra they will be able to recall how actual photographs were reproduced through etching into black granite. These are just a few of the options we will need to consider. 

Jim Benney an ex JR who runs a business in Ballarat is providing some very generous advice to the committee on bronze casting issues such as achieving cost effective designs. He is providing us with some design considerations that will be circulated in due course but still sticking with a stone wall with a bronze centrepiece of a JR in uniform.  

The Location 

The location is a vexed issue in that regardless of the site chosen it is going to need the approval of whoever owns or controls access to it. In the case of the “Leeuwin site” this will need the approval of the Army or Department of Defence. We must also consider access in this regard in that it is a controlled military site and access by the public, and that includes us, may be an issue. A formal application has been made to Leeuwin Barracks to have land allocated and approval sought to place the memorial there. 

If we are not successful with Leeuwin Barracks then outside the “Leeuwin site” also presents a need for approvals such as with the East Fremantle Town Council who would, apart from giving approval, also need to donate the land on which the memorial is to be located. 

Application has been made to East Fremantle Council to site the memorial in the first instance on Crown land at Leeuwin Barracks. We have not yet been fully advised on this with respect to Planning Laws in that municipality but we will deal with that issue if it is necessary. 

As Junior Recruits: What is our heritage? 

Some comment has been made as to why we are concerned with Tingira. The very foundations of what we were as junior recruits can be found in the history of Tingira.

What were those foundations? Perhaps if we are to look upon our time in training as a progression to manhood, the role of the training system was to guide us through that process, improve our educational levels, to introduce us to a more disciplined approach to life and to the life in the service of the RAN. The heritage of the Junior Recruit Training system lives in each and every one of us. The foundations of this are drawn from Tingira. 

Sobraon 

The Sobraon 

On her last voyage from England SOBRAON arrived in Melbourne in mid December 1891 and after discharging cargo sailed to Sydney where she was taken over by the New South Wales Government for use as a Reformatory Ship. On 8 November 1892 the Sobraon replaced a Reformatory Ship known as the Vernon. Sobraon, a much larger vessel was treble the size of its predecessor. During 1893 Sobraon had an average of 263 boys onboard.  

The Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act of 1905 [Act No. 16, 1905] came into force on 1 October1905. As a probationary system was established in the courts, the number of children committed to industrial schools and reformatories declined and the numbers of children sent to the "Sobraon" quickly decreased. The enrolment for 1910 was 231, a 5% decrease on the enrolment for the previous year. These boys were discharged to their parents or guardians or apprenticed out and by the end of July 1911 the remainder of the boys were set to the Mittagong Farm Home for Boys and the Brush Farm Home for Boys. The "Sobraon" was abandoned.

In 1911 on the formation of the Royal Australian Navy the Sobraon was passed to Commonwealth control for use as a Boys Training Ship. In May of the same year, Commander Charles L. Lewin, RN, (now that's spooky) was appointed as the first Commanding Officer of the Training School. On 18th November 1911 Navy Order No 81 promulgated information that SOBRAON would be renamed HMAS TINGIRA and based at Rose Bay, Sydney and was used exclusively for training recruits for the Royal Australian Navy until 1925 when the Recruit School was established at HMAS CERBERUS

 TINGIRA commissioned in the Royal Australian Navy on 25th April 1912 and on 1st June the first batch of 37 boys recruited in New South Wales joined for training. These were followed by drafts from other States to complete the first intake of 100 boys. Entry was limited to boys between the ages of 14 ½ and 16 years. Recruits were bound to serve for seven years following their eighteenth birthday. Minimum height standards varied from 4 feet 10 inches at 14 and a half, to 5 feet 2 inches at 16 years, with chest measurement 29 inches to 32 inches.

The last draft of TINGIRA boys began their training in 1926 and in August that year recruiting of boys ceased. On 30th June 1921 TINGIRA paid off for disposal. In the fifteen years and one month of her RAN commission 2,941 boys were trained in her to take their place as sailors in the fleet. Tingira remained moored at Garden Island or Rose Bay for her entire naval career.

On 3rd November 1927 TINGIRA was sold to Mr. W.M. Ford of Sydney who took possession and removed the old ship from Garden Island on 22nd November 1927. In 1935 Mr. S. Friere of the Southern Hemisphere Company, Roseville, Sydney, purchased her for breaking up.

When we look across the history of the RAN, the training of boys to become active members of the service has been a significant feature of the Australian Navy. The Tingira boys were trained in an era that saw periods of war (1914-1918) with those leaving Tingira posted to active duty wherever the RAN was called upon to serve.

 What was Tingira’s Crest and Motto?

There are a number of versions of Tingira’s Crest and Motto that have emerged and some are represented below. The authenticity of what we have is presently being investigated however one likely answer is that in the very early stages of establishing the RAN a ship’s crests and mottos were sometimes established by whoever was in command of the ship and as such variations of crests emerged over the years. Mottos were often written in Latin and the interpretation of what the Latin words meant was at time a little misguided. We know that the Tingira’s figurehead was in the form of a lion’s head and one version of a Tingira crest is represented this way. The search goes on. 

Friday Night Dances 

Dance nights in the old drill hall we a feature of the early days at Leeuwin. Often this presented an opportunity to establish ongoing contact with local girls. This also created the partnerships for the Graduation Ball. Many long term relationships were created as a consequence of these dance nights (some even managed to get married) The dancing lessons that included many traditional steps (Barn Dance, Quick Step etc) were a lot of fun but I am not sure that what occurred then would be readily taken up by the youth of today.  

The Graduation Ball photo below is courtesy of Alan Mc Donald who now lives in Canada.

“Yours Aye” 

Ken Dobbie

Email ken.dobbie@bigpond.com
75 Lovett St Devonport Tas. 7310
Tel 03 64247198
Mob. 0418140042