Navy People: From Recruitment to Rome and Back
18 September 2009
HMAS Ballarat, a 3600 tonne Royal Australian Navy (RAN) frigate will be returning home from her 25,000km round-the-world voyage in early October. The frigate is named after one of Victoria’s largest regional cities, however with 5% of her crew hailing from Newcastle, she is manned by more Novacastrians than from any other Australian regional city.
Ballarat, together with HMAS Sydney, left Australia in April on Northern Trident 09 – an around the world deployment aimed at supporting Government of Australia priorities such as diplomacy, international security and Defence industry interests in Western European, Northern American and Asian countries.
The deployment has had plenty of highlights, from rescuing a merchant vessel under attack from pirates, visiting ports in India, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada as well as the United States where the ship sailed past the Statue of Liberty before berthing in New York for a four day official visit.
Chief Petty Officer Cath Harvey and Able Seaman Allyson Hurrell are two of the Novacastrians working together in the Ship's Office on board Ballarat. The two women are Writers and it is their responsibility to oversee administration of the ship which includes personnel administration as well as pay and allowances for the 180 Officers and Sailors on board.
In addition to acting as her supervisor, Chief Petty Officer Cath Harvey has played another important role in Allyson’s career – recruiting her into the RAN when she was posted to Defence Force Recruiting in Newcastle.
“I remembered Allyson’s family after meeting them during her recruitment in 2008, to see them again on the wharf in Sydney when we departed was great. I’m proud to have seen Ally from her initial recruitment through to her first promotion to Able Seaman which occurred during the NT09 trip” Cath said.
“During my career I’ve had a number of different roles including time at Defence Recruiting and as an instructor at the RAN Recruit School. One of the real highlights of this trip for me is seeing some of the young people I’ve instructed now getting to sea as Leading Seamen, getting on in their careers and having this great trip as part of their RAN experience”
With a financial planning and finance background, Able Seaman Allyson Hurrell was attracted to the RAN both for the business administration qualifications she could obtain as a Writer but also for the travel opportunities offered by the RAN. After being in the Navy for only a year and a half, Allyson is grateful for the opportunity to travel the world and develop her skills as a Writer on such a significant deployment.
“I count myself lucky to have gotten so much out of my Navy experience so soon. As the ship was preparing for this deployment and during our time at sea, I have had a chance to really build my skills and professional competence and this trip has let me visit places like Rome, which left me absolutely speechless”
“Visiting Italy has definitely been the highlight of the trip for me, walking though the cobbled streets, being surrounded by little restaurants and cafes that opened to all hours and most of all being immersed in the history – visiting the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain.” Allyson said.
While NT09 was not Cath’s first overseas trip with the Royal Australian Navy (having deployed to Timor, Solomon Islands as well as countries in the South East and South West Pacific), Italy has also provided her with one of the most memorable moments of the deployment when she attended Pentecost Mass at St Peters Basilica, sitting by the altar in uniform as mass was conducted by the Pope.
“It was an overwhelming experience and an unexpected opportunity arising from the Northern Trident 09 trip. Although I was emotional during the service I left St Peter’s Basilica with a new calmness and inner peace” Cath said.
Despite the memories that both women will take away for the trip, after 6 months away both are eagerly awaiting their return home, to reunite with family and shower them with the souvenirs they have collected in their time away. After her first big trip away Allyson says with a smile: “Being away just makes you appreciate family and what you have at home even more, I can’t wait to get back, to catch up with everyone and do the beach drive back in Newcastle again.”
