Publication:Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs No. 17/Collins John Augustine (1899-1989)
COLLINS, Sir JOHN AUGUSTINE (1899-1989), naval officer and diplomat, was born on 7 January 1899 at Deloraine, Tasmania. He was the fourth son of Dr M.J. Collins and Esther née Copeland. His father had spent many years as a merchant navy doctor and died a few months before John was born. Esther Collins had a strong interest in federal politics and she took John to a session of the first Federal Parliament in Melbourne. By happenstance it was discussing Australia's naval defence and the creation of the RANC.
In 1913 John Collins joined the inaugural entry of the RANC. Initially the College was at Osborne House, Geelong but was relocated in 1915 to its permanent home at Jervis Bay. The 1913 Entry, known as the Pioneer class, collectively made a significant contribution to the RAN. A high proportion of the class excelled in their initial training but none more so than Collins and Harold Farncomb [q.v.]. Collins became a Cadet-Captain and on the sporting field gained his colours in rugby and athletics. In his professional studies he was awarded prizes for seamanship and engineering and on passing out in 1916 was awarded maximum time gained which accelerated his promotion to lieutenant.
In 1917, Midshipman Collins was sent with his class to the UK for training with the RN. Collins' first sea appointment was to the battleship HMS Canada, a unit of the Grand Fleet. As World War I drew to a close Collins joined the destroyer HMS Spencer becoming her gunnery officer. In 1919 he joined the new destroyer HMAS Stalwart, which upon completion steamed directly to Chatham to be held with the Reserve Fleet. Collins finally returned to Australia in 1921 to join the cruiser HMAS Melbourne.
In 1922 Lieutenant Collins returned to the UK to complete the Long Gunnery course at HMS Excellent. He topped his course and received the Commander Egerton Memorial Prize. On return to Australia in 1925 Collins rejoined Melbourne, this time as her Gunnery Officer. No sooner had he joined Melbourne than she deployed to the British Mediterranean Fleet as the first unit of an exchange cruiser program. Melbournes commission with the 1st Cruiser Squadron was professionally invaluable preparation for Collins' subsequent service in the Mediterranean. On Melbournes return to Australia Collins was honoured by being appointed as the Naval Liaison Officer for the 1927 Royal Visit by the Duke and Duchess of York. Collins accompanied the Royal Party at both the opening of Parliament House in Canberra and in the subsequent passage in the battlecruiser HMS Renown back to the UK.
On arrival in England Collins joined the new heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, fitting out at Clydebank, as her Gunnery Officer. Following a relatively short period in Australia, Collins was appointed to command the destroyer leader HMAS Anzac in 1930. This was a clear recognition of Collins' potential for higher rank and the Navy's desire to round out his professional development. Within a week of assuming his first sea command he married Phyllis McLauchlan. In 1931 Collins was posted as the First Lieutenant of Flinders Naval Depot, the first of three consecutive shore postings. More significantly, this appointment was followed by attendance on the Staff Course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. In 1933 Commander Collins joined the Plans Division of the Admiralty to develop plans for Imperial port defences. In 1935 while on leave in Cornwall, Collins rescued a girl swept away by a rip at Portwinkle. Phyllis assisted in the rescue by manning an improvised lifeline. Collins received a Royal Humane Society's Parchment for his actions.
Later that year the new light cruiser HMAS Sydney was fitting out at Newcastle-on-Tyne and Collins was appointed her Executive Officer. His Commanding Officer was the at times brilliant, but unpredictable, Captain J.U.P. Fitzgerald, RN, who made Collins' duties even more of a challenge. While on her maiden voyage to Australia, Sydney was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in response to the Abyssinian Crisis. Due to the ongoing threat of war with Italy Sydney did not arrive in Australian waters until August 1936, by which time Phyllis had given birth to their only child, a daughter, Gillian. Collins left Sydney in 1938 on promotion to captain to be Liaison Officer for Australia's 150th Anniversary Celebrations. After this short diversion Collins became the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff and Director of Naval Intelligence at Navy Office in Melbourne. Collins played an important staffing role in developing much-needed anti-submarine escorts. These plans resulted in the very successful Bathurst class corvettes. Another pressing issue was the production of various naval mobilisation plans and procedures. This work pressed ahead after the flaws in defence arrangements were made clear during the 1938 Munich Crisis.
In many respects the period in Navy Office prepared Collins well for his most memorable operational appointment that of commanding Sydney. Collins had a good grasp of the strategic environment and knew his superiors from the Prime Minister down. In May 1940 Sydney once again joined the Mediterranean Fleet which was commanded by the redoubtable Admiral (Sir) Andrew Cunningham. Cunningham's leadership style was based on broad direction with the expectation that subordinates would use commonsense and initiative to achieve the strategic aim. Captain 'Hec' Waller [q.v.], RAN and the 10th (Scrap Iron) Flotilla had already flourished under this approach. The less flamboyant, but highly competent and astute Collins was to equally prosper.
In the early months in the Mediterranean Sydney took part in the bombardment of Bardia, the Battle of Calabria and sank the Italian destroyer Espero. In July 1940 Sydney, in company with the destroyer HMS Havock, conducted a sweep off the Cretean coast while at the same time providing support to four British destroyers. Collins used the latitude provided by Cunningham to remain closer to the destroyers while they remained vulnerable to attack in the Aegean Sea. On the morning of 19 July the destroyers encountered two Italian cruisers the Bartolomeo Colleoni and the Giovanni delle Bande Nere. Collins decided to maintain radio silence while closing for battle. This tactic proved decisive. Sydney's appearance caught everyone by surprise including Cunningham, and in the ensuing engagement Colleoni was stopped and subsequently sunk by torpedoes from two destroyers. Outnumbered Bande Nere escaped using her superior speed. The Battle of Cape Spada was the first substantial naval victory in the war against Italy and catapulted Collins and the Sydney into the world's headlines. Collins was immediately made a Companion of the Bath. In Australia, he became a national hero and was to wear that mantle for the remainder of his life. Sydney returned to her name port on 9 February 1941 to a tumultuous welcome. Collins had only three months remaining in command. But in that time Sydney took the First Naval Member Admiral (Sir) Ragnar Colvin [q.v.] to a conference in Singapore. Here it was decided that Collins would be appointed Australian Naval Representative to Commander-in-Chief China (based in Singapore) Vice Admiral (Sir) Geoffrey Layton.
In June 1941, Collins took up his duties in Singapore accompanied by his wife and daughter. His immediate duties were to work on the plans for the employment of Allied air and naval forces. Collins established a good rapport with Layton and was disappointed when he was relieved by Admiral Phillips. On news of the sinking of the British capital ships Prince of Wales and Repluse with the loss of Phillips, Collins had the presence of mind to rush to the departing Dominion Monarch to recall Layton to duty. So began a particularly gruelling period for Collins. Having organised for the evacuation of his family, Collins became Commodore Commanding China Force. This was a force of RN and RAN cruisers and destroyers based out of Batavia. It was a significant command and Collins as a Commodore 2nd class was junior for the post. Collins exercised command within the complex and unwieldy Australian-British-Dutch-American (ABDA) Command. Despite these difficulties, Collins employed his ships either escorting shipping to and from Singapore or assigned them to the Dutch commanded Western Task Force. After the surrender of Singapore and the Allied defeat in the Battle of the Java Sea, it was clear to Collins that Batavia would fall. He organised evacuations of civilians and military personnel to Australia and India and embarked in one of the last departing ships. Collins was deservedly mentioned in despatches and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands later made him a Commander of the Order Oranje Nassau.
On arrival in Fremantle Collins became Senior Naval Officer Western Australia. During his tenure he was involved in the controversial decision to relieve classmate Commander Paul Hirst of his command of the corvette HMAS Toowoomba. The details of the decision remain unclear but appear to have centred on Hirst's refusal to sail his ship because of his concerns about her material state.
In 1943 Collins flew to the UK in 1943 to take command of the newly commissioning heavy cruiser HMAS Shropshire. Collins took Shropshire to the Pacific theatre where she joined other RAN ships attached to the US 7th Fleet. In May 1944 on Prime Minister John Curtin's insistence, Collins was appointed to Commodore 1st class and given command of the Australian Squadron. Collins' force took part in the New Guinea and Philippines campaigns and on Trafalgar Day 1944 his flagship, Australia was struck on the bridge by a Japanese dive-bomber. Captain Emile Dechaineux and 25 men were killed while Collins was seriously wounded. After convalescence Collins returned to command the Squadron and was the RAN representative for the Japanese surrender onboard USS Missouri. The United States Government made Collins an Officer of the Legion of Merit.
In 1948, after promotion to Rear Admiral and attendance at the Imperial Defence College, Collins became the first Australian-trained officer to become Chief of Navy Staff (CNS) and First Naval Member of the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board. Collins considered himself too young at 49 for the post, however, Prime Minister Ben Chifley was adamant that an Australian must lead the RAN. Promoted to Vice Admiral in May 1950, Collins remained in the appointment until 23 February 1955. This long tenure was partly the result of the war losses suffered by Collins' generation. Collins proved to be a shrewd and capable administrator who enjoyed the respect of the higher echelons of Defence and Government. These qualities were much needed as the Navy was reshaped to meet changing strategic, social and fiscal circumstances. Collins also oversaw the introduction of aircraft carriers into the Fleet as well as the involvement of the RAN in the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency. He also instigated coordinated strategic and operational planning by the RAN, RN and RNZN. Collins followed this success in 1951 with similar arrangements with the USN. The resultant Radford-Collins Agreement came to symbolise the post-war primacy of the RAN's relationship with the USN. Also in that year he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
As his tenure as CNS neared its end Collins was offered governorships by at least two State governments. Instead he accepted the appointment of High Commissioner to New Zealand. By virtue of his wife's New Zealand heritage and his frequent naval visits, Collins was well acquainted with his host nation. In his new role Collins proved to be a sensitive observer of national affairs. Collins had an unrestrained love for the natural beauty of New Zealand. In particular he was a keen angler and he travelled widely through the country. His travels were further extended when in 1957 he also became one of the Australian Commissioners on the South Pacific Commission. In all, Collins was High Commissioner for nearly seven years, the last five years of which he was Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.
On return to Australia Prime Minister Robert Menzies offered him the Governor Generalship but he refused the honour. Instead, after fifty years service to the Crown, Collins retired to Sydney. He kept in regular contact with his former naval comrades, particularly at their long-standing social centre, the Royal Sydney Golf Club. In 1965 Collins set out his memoirs in As Luck Would Have It. He also further pursued his hobby of book binding.
From the outset of his brilliant naval career it was clear Collins was a clever and ambitious officer. The reports by his superiors on his performance are striking in their consistently outstanding assessments. Most notable in their estimation were his professionalism, cool head and keen sense of judgment. These attributes were most ably demonstrated in the Battle of Cape Spada. As a leader Collins was brave, and forceful. He was conservative by nature and actively maintained the traditions of the Service. His patience would occasionally be tested by poor performances from subordinates. This probably led him to be viewed with more respect than affection by his ship's companies. This respect and confidence was heightened post-1940 by his victory at Cape Spada and the associated national fame.
Collins was a handsome and extremely well turned out naval officer. He was for a generation the public face of the Australian Navy. Unlike most naval officers Collins was very aware of the importance of the media and some officers accused him of being self-promoting. Whatever the case, his contribution to the positive public image of the Navy was considerable. There are numerous artworks of Collins including a fine drawing by Captain D.W. Smith and an oil painting by William Dargie both held at the Australian War Memorial.
In 1988 Collins was named among the Australian Bicentennial 200 Greatest Australians. He died on 3 September 1989. His funeral at St Andrews Cathedral, Sydney, was with full naval honours.
Peter D. Jones
Peter D. Jones, 'Collins, Sir John Augustine (1899-1989)', prepared for a forthcoming volume of the Australian Dictionary of Biography, and modified for Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs, No. 17. The ADB biographies are available online at www.adb.online.anu.edu.au
