A Perfect Day For Fleeting Moments

Sydney Morning Herald

Sunday August 4, 1991

By MARGOT DATE

The Royal Australian Navy could not have ordered a better day than yesterday to make a fleet entry into Sydney Harbour.

Sailing from a flat sea into the Harbour lined with well-wishers and dotted with the usual power and sailing boats, HMAS Perth and HMAS Adelaide had the perfect homecoming after months away.

But not everyone on board the ships could enjoy the sunshine and spectacle to mark Navy Week.

Leading Seaman Marc Green, of Monash Ridge, in the ACT, missed it all, as he was stuck below decks on the Adelaide keeping watch on the array of computers essential for the smooth running of the ship.

When the Adelaide, a guided missile frigate, sailed into the Harbour last December after a tour of duty in the Persian Gulf, Leading Seaman Green, 24, managed to swap places with a workmate and saw the lot.

Yesterday, he had to be content with knowing that his wife, Lee-Anne , and three-year-old son, Anthony, were waiting for him at Garden Island.

The guided missile destroyer HMAS Perth, returning from a visit to Crete, led yesterday's fleet entry of the Adelaide (returning from four months in South-East Asia), destroyers HMAS Derwent and Torrens, the submarine Otway and the patrol boat Fremantle.

Home was still several hours away when the fleet passed through the Heads and inched its way up the Harbour to deliver a 15-gun salute from the Perth to the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Ian MacDougall .

This time around was like returning from "a pleasure trip", according to Leading Seaman Green.

Being in the Gulf "was scary but it was good", he said. "We were welcomed home really well."

After four months away, the 207 men and three women aboard the Adelaide were finally able to welcome family and friends on board when the ship docked at Garden Island.

At lunchtime today, 1,500 officers and sailors who served in the Persian Gulf on the Adelaide, Darwin, Sydney, Brisbane, Westralia and Success will march along George Street and receive an official welcome from the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, and other dignitaries to mark Navy Week.

From 1 pm to 5 pm the Brisbane and the Sydney will be open to the public at the overseas passenger terminal, Circular Quay.