HMAS Burnie

HMAS "Burnie" (J198/B238/A112), named for the port of Burnie, Tasmania, was a Bathurst class corvette built by Mort's Dock and Engineering Company at Mort's Dock in Balmain, New South Wales, launched on 25 October 1940 by Lady King, wife of the chairman of directors of Mort's Dock and Engineering Company, and commissioned on 15 April 1941 under the command of Lieutenant George E. Gough. HMAS "Burnie" paid off on 5 July 1946, was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy on 10 July 1946 and renamed "Ceram". She was removed from the effective list in 1958.

Operational history

RAN service

She was one of 60 Australian minesweepers built during World War II, and one of 56 intended for the Royal Australian Navy. Initially she was part of the 20th Minesweeping Flotilla, after joining it on 10 May 1941, and then was based temporarily at Fremantle for escort and patrol duties. In December 1941 the Royal Australian Navy used "Burnie" to help oppose the Japanese advance in the Dutch East Indies after the Pearl Harbor attack.

On 16 January 1942, Lieutenant T. Christy Ranr took over command from Lieutenant George E. Gough. Between 18 February and 20 February of 1942 it took part in the evacuation of Sumatra, and on 28 February of the same year it helped rescue survivors from the Dutch vessel "Broero" on Java Head.

In September 1942 "Burnie" was transferred to the British Eastern Fleet; engaging in anti-submarine patrols and convoy escorts between Bombay, Aden, and Colombo, and returned to Australia in 1944. At that point she was assigned to the Minesweeping Flotilla as a part of the British Pacific Fleet, carrying out similar anti-submarine patrol and convoy escort duties in New Guinea, the Admiralties, and the Philippines. Minesweeping operations were also performed by her near Hong-Kong in 1945, and in August of that year she paid a visit to Burnie, Tasmania, her namesake.

Post-RAN service

On 5 July 1946, Burnie, along with her sister ships HMAS "Ipswich" and HMAS "Toowoomba", arrived in Ceylon. "Burnie" was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy and renamed HNLMS "Ceram", serving more than 160,000 miles under that name.

References

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* "The Last Corvettes to leave Tjilatjap", http://vader.nw.com.au/~stella/tjilatjap.htm.