Doreen RSL organised a trip to visit the HMAS Castlemaine in Williamstown to see how the Navy bretheren lived aboard these beauties.

Designed, and built right here in Williamstown, the Castlemaine was a Buthurst class Corvette and served in many theatres of war around the world including Borneo, Mediterranean, Persian Gulf Bay of Bengal and many others.

The day started off with a train ride to Flinders St. station and a short walk down the river to catch our cruise down to Williamstown. Along the way we saw some of the amazing achitecture of Melbourne and enjoyed the view from a different perspective.

Once we arrived at Williamstown, we went straight onboard to see how the Navy contingent of our RSL lived whilst at sea. The Volunteer tour guides from the Maritime Trust of Australia gave us a facinating tour around the ship and we learnt a lot about the way things would have been aboard.

After our walk around the ship, We headed off to a local pub for a nice lunch and then it was time to get some icecream before we were back onto our cruise boat to start our journey home.

Many thanks to the organisers and the staff of the HMAS Castlemaine.

You can find more information on these Ships at these websites:-

https://hmascastlemaine.org.au

https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-castlemaine

Address: Gem Pier, Syme St, Williamstown VIC 3016