HMAS Goulburn (J167/B243/A117), named for the city of Goulburn, New South Wales

Goulburn, New South Wales

Goulburn is a provincial city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council Local Government Area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and above sea-level. On Census night 2006, Goulburn had a population of 20,127 people...

, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes

Bathurst class corvette

The Bathurst class corvettes were a class of general purpose vessels produced in Australia during World War II. Originally classified as minesweepers, but widely referred to as corvettes, the Bathurst class vessels fulfilled a broad anti-submarine, anti-mine, and convoy escort role.Sixty Bathurst...

 constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the 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).

Construction

Goulburn was laid down by the Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney, New South Wales on 10 July 1940. She was launched on 16 November 1940 by the wife of Rear Admiral John Gregory Crace

John Gregory Crace

Vice Admiral Sir John Gregory Crace KBE, CB , also known as Jack Crace, was an Australian who came to prominence as an officer of the Royal Navy . Crace nevertheless spent a great deal of his career with the Royal Australian Navy...

, the commander of the Australian Squadron, and was commissioned on 28 February 1941.

At 743 tons standard displacement, Goulburn exceeded the designed standard displacement of the Bathurst class ships by 93 tons.

Operational history

After entering active service, Goulburn was assigned to minesweeping duties along the east and south-east coasts of Australia, and was one of several ships attempting to locate mines deployed by the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin

German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin

The Pinguin was a German auxiliary cruiser which served as a commerce raider in World War II. The Pinguin was known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 33, and designated HSK 5. The most successful commerce raider of the war, she was known to the British Royal Navy as Raider F...

 and the auxiliary minelayer Passat. Although operating in this role from 23 April to 31 May 1941, the corvette located only a single mine.

On 16 June, Goulburn and sister ship Burnie

HMAS Burnie

HMAS Burnie , named for the port city of Burnie, Tasmania, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II and one of 20 built for the Admiralty but manned by personnel of and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy .Entering RAN service in April 1941, Burnie saw action...

 were assigned to the China Station and sailed to Singapore. The corvettes operated as convoy escorts, minesweepers, and anti-submarine patrol ships until January 1942. Goulburn was then deployed to Batavia and used as a minesweeper and convoy escort throughout the Sunda Islands

Sunda Islands

The Sunda Islands are a group of islands that form part of the Malay archipelago.They are further divided into the Greater Sunda Islands and the Lesser Sunda Islands.-Administration:...

. On 27 February, the corvette passed the ABDA

American-British-Dutch-Australian Command

The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II...

 cruiser force shortly before the beginning of the Battle of the Java Sea

Battle of the Java Sea

The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies....

. Although removed from the main battle area, Goulburn was attacked by three waves of three Japanese dive bombers, but was undamaged. On 29 February, Goulburn departed for Australia, arriving in Fremantle on 9 March with only seven tons of fuel remaining. The corvette was assigned to convoy escort runs along the Queensland coast until the end of 1943, then entered a three-month refit.

After refitting, Goulburn was deployed to New Guinea waters as an escort and patrol vessel. During June 1944, the corvette supported landings at Dugumu Bay and Sogari Island. On 25 September, native scouts and a US Army Intelligence officer were embarked to be transported to the Malpia Islands. The native scouts were landed on 27 September to assess Japanese troop strength throughout the island group. After the scouts failed to rendezvous with the ship two days later, and following a failed search attempt by six sailors and the US officer, it was assumed that the scouts had been captured. This was confirmed when American PT boats attempted to land troops on the island a few days later, meeting heavy Japanese resistance. Before leaving the area, Goulburn shelled a village on Pegun Island believed to hold Japanese troops. At the start of October, the corvette was tasked with retrieving another native scout group. After several failed attempts to locate the scouts, they were retrieved from Mois Aoeri Island. While returning to the ship, the shore party was able to capture three Japanese soldiers attempting to escape in a canoe. After observing numerous Japanese personnel on shore, and receiving conformation that several hundred Japanese were based on the island, Goulburn opened fire on the main camp. After these operations, the corvette returned to convoy escort duties until December 1944, then returned to Australia.

Goulburn spent the first part of 1945 operating in Australian waters, before returning to New Guinea in May. She spent a month on escort and minesweeping duties, before sailing to Darwin and escorting a floating dry dock to Milne Bay. The corvette remained in New Guinea waters until the end of the war on 15 August. On 30 August, Goulburn and two sister ships escorted a convoy to Hong Kong, arriving on 21 September. The corvette was involved in minesweeping operations throughout Chinese waters, before returning to Sydney in December 1945.

The ship received 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 1942-44" and "New Guinea 1942-44".

Decommissioning and fate

Goulburn was paid off on 27 September 1946. She was sold to Pacific Enterprise Incorporated on 13 October 1947, and after several re-sales, ended up in the possession of the Ta Hing Company of Hong Kong in December 1950. However, a Commonwealth Statuatory Order prevented the ship from leaving Australian waters, and she was sold again to John Manners & Co of Sydney in 1953. The corvette was broken up for scrapping at Iron Cove

Iron Cove, New South Wales

Iron Cove is a bay on the Parramatta River, in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It lies approximately due west of Sydney's central business district. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Birchgrove, Balmain, Rozelle, Lilyfield, Haberfield, Five Dock, Rodd Point,...

in 1953.