HMAS ANZAC Detachment

Historically though, this is only the second time the Edinburgh Military Tattoo has been performed outside of Edinburgh, the only other time was in New Zealand in 2000. I wonder if it rained in New Zealand as well? Nothing worse than wearing a white uniform and trying to dodge horse leftovers in slushy ground… yes we always march on after the horses (this time the New South Wales Mounted Police): some things never change! Apparently not one single performance of the Edinburgh Tattoo has ever been cancelled; rain, hail or shine! The replica of Edinburgh castle was quite spectacular. A life size version standing 25 metres high, embracing every detail from drawbridge to sentry boxes, made the most magical and dramatic backdrop fitting for such a performance. The smoke machine puffed away as we marched out thus providing a very mysterious entrance into the arena. The atmosphere of the arena as we marched out was electric. As soon as we were announced there were cheers and whistles. It truly was a magnificent experience….

HMAS ANZAC DETACHMENT

Article by Petty Officer Kara Williams

When asked to contribute an article for the band newsletter, I felt that my representation of the deployment thus far would only be a small facet of the experiences and views each and every one of us takes with us on a day to day basis. So, I felt it only right to ask each of the members of the HMAS ANZAC detachment for a short paragraph on their highlights of the deployment thus far and it was no surprise the diversity of the comments I received.

Able Seaman Andrew Hansch

Wednesday 4 May 2005 will be a memory that I will take with me to the grave. Having the chance to play a civvy gig at any time is always special but this night was a highlight of my 10 years in the Navy. B.J’s nightclub in Malta was the venue, a famous Jazz nightclub that has been the host to some of music’s all-time legends. Just standing on stage was enough, but playing to a packed room full of your ship mates, consulate officials, friendly locals and a few ex-pats who’d come to check us out was just something else. It really didn’t feel like work, as at no time did it feel any effort to whack out a solid gold Aussie hit for the kids to dance and sing along to.

Leading Seaman Aaron Geeves

So far I’ve had a great time while on this historic journey re-tracing the steps of our forefather's as they went of to war as young men full of dreams on an adventure across the world. Sadly most never came home, but in the words of Attaturk “they are now buried in the soil of a friendly country, no longer enemies but friends. My experience has so far been quite different, still quite an adventure but I expect to make it home in one piece. Malta for me was a highlight and each port has proven to be more beautiful than the last. All I can say is: everything is bon, everything is bon.

Able Seaman Heather Wright

I have two highlights so far this deployment. First it was fantastic to go to the home of hand made Turkish cymbals in Istanbul. After about and hour or so of hitting testing and mixing cymbals I was able to purchase a set of Hi-hats, Ride, Crash, Splash and China cymbal for a fraction of the cost found in Australia. At the end of one of the streets (it is music lane - a muso’s delight) I have never seen so many music shops in one spot at one time. Secondly, the atmosphere created by the mainly Australian crowd at Anzac Cove and Lone Pine was so exciting and magical - we (everyone at Lone Pine) managed to hold about 10 circles of a Mexican wave. The services were quite “short and sweet”; it was a great day for the 'ANZACS'.

Able Seaman Damian Dowd

So far the Anzac trip has met with success. I have found the ports to be both challenging and rewarding with little or no problems in meeting our objectives and delivering benchmark performances. We have found favour with the ship’s company and over all I think that is wonderful. Our messes are good and the food is really tasty. I like the dessert range as well, but I'm watching my weight, because I could get fat.

Everyone is enjoying the music we are playing. A special highlight for us was playing Ceremonial Sunset in front of Chief of Defence Force and Chief of Navy. Everything is Bon.

Able Seaman Matthew Booth

It's hard to say what the best part of the tour so far is when there have been so many good times: sipping piña coladas in India while watching flocks of European backpackers in bikinis walk along the beach punctuated by the occasional cow meandering aimlessly. Haggling over the price of a camel ride around the pyramids in Cairo - "Hello Australia! Special price for you..." Or wandering around the maze of cobbled backstreets in Crete, pausing to admire local oil paintings of the waterfront or discovering what an actual Greek salad tastes like. Perhaps Istanbul is a highlight, with its seemingly infinite amount of bazaars and cafes with strong Turkish coffee and dark chocolate. I’d have to include pausing for a group photo with Prime Minister John Howard on Anzac Cove on Anzac day, all with the Lleyton Hewitt "COME OOONNNNN" pose. And these few memories are just the tip of the iceberg of great moments, and we're not even half way through yet.

Able Seaman Juliana O’Brien

To volunteer for a six-month trip and never knowing what it would be like is definitely paying off. Sure sometimes day to day, week to week, and month to month I want to be home, feet up on the coffee table sitting next to Dave or making dinner for us. When I left Berl, my mum, in Albany I said "man it's going to suck if I don't like living on a boat"! And then there is Crete. I think Crete definitely has a taste for everyone: shopping, leather, coffee, relaxing by the water, partying, cocktails, food and more food. Walking down the tiny one way lanes lined with all sorts of shops and then you can turn around and see the most beautiful snow capped mountains and be blown away with their beauty, it is truly gorgeous. And another thing that's pretty cool is they run the whole “nanna nap” siesta in the arvo, yeah! Istanbul was of course unreal because I got to celebrate my 25th birthday here. You see something you want to buy, know how much you want to pay for it, and tell the dude the price you'll give him and, nine times out of 10 after the high-energy barter, it's in the bag mate. I had a ball getting the price I wanted to pay. Goa taught me that one and Alexandria perfected the technique! Istanbul was also the first cocktail party we had done (four prior) where the whole bunch of guests sang both their own national anthems and our national anthem. I thought that was pretty special. Also it was the first one we had done at actual sunset and it was beautiful anchored in the Bosphorus Strait. It was heaps pretty out there on the water. The Petty Officer Photographer should have some awesome shots of that one to share with you all back home. Anyway we are not even half way through the trip!

Able Seaman Shaun Tatnell

The most awesome part of this trip was by far the ANZAC Day ceremony. Even though I was thoroughly exhausted (coming off a 4 – 8 am watch the morning before), it was definitely worth staying awake for. We left the ship at midnight, and boarded a ferry and disembarked, boarded a bus, disembarked and walked the final kilometre of so to the ceremonial ground at ANZAC Cove. We arrived around 2am and had to fill in time as the ceremony began at 0430. HMAS Anzac stayed just off shore to provide a backdrop. The light show was spectacular and accompanying prose told a compelling story about the ANZAC diggers. The ceremony itself was rather like any other memorial service I have been involved in however, when the Australian National Anthem was played, thousands of people sang and the Australian National Flag was displayed on the big screen Television. It was hard not to feel proud and patriotic whist singing and taking in the surrounds. Nearly 90 years to the hour; the diggers were beginning to traverse the beach and the countryside.

Petty Officer Kara Williams

For me, there is so much to say about the first three months of the HMAS Anzac deployment. So many experiences have passed and parts of the deployment are becoming an unerring blur. Some things feel like yesterday and were really months ago and visaversa. It feels as though the “shakedown” period, stop in Geraldton and subsequent departure from Australian waters out of Albany to follow the route of the ANZAC troops from Australia 90 years ago to me, also seems a lifetime ago.

Our journey has taken us to Goa, India, through the Suez Canal, on to Alexandria and to the magnificent pyramids of Giza, Cairo, (amid a local bombing!) and the experience of having countless hawkers keen to fleece you of every last Egyptian pound you have shout “Gift, gift! Gift for you!” as an item is placed in your hand “Now you give me money!” Obviously the word “gift” has another meaning in Egypt!!! To get on a camel and go for a ride was relatively cheap and fun experience however, getting off said camel was considerably more pricey! Crete proved to be a fantastic port for both the gigs and the food (despite the poorer than average exchange rate of the Aussie dollar to the Euro (to make our dollar worth around 50 cents!) The opportunity to perform public concerts in two buildings (the Venetian Arsenals in Crete and the Conservatorium Turkish Mosque in Rethymno) of at twice (closer to three times) the age of modern Australia was phenomenal. We played (via our bus expertly negotiated narrow back streets) at a concert hall (previously a Turkish mosque) in the locality-city of Rethymno. The Mayor (a musician himself) was astounded at the talents of our detachment and despite the language barrier of a good majority of the audience the Mayor gave up on translating our commentary and sat back and enjoyed the show with the rest of the crowd. The Mayor was so impressed in fact, that he was reluctant to let us stop playing! The biggest surprise was near end of the night however, when one local member of the audience stood up from her chair and yelled out “play Jimmy Barnes’ Working class man!!!!” We were more than happy to oblige! All of the official guests, including us, were then subsequently treated to a feast at Rethymno’s top restaurant all at the Mayor’s expense, but that is a story for another time and another of my favourite parts of the deployment. Having been one of the three Anzac detachment members that participated in the 2004 ANZAC day ceremonies at Anzac Cove, the opportunity to repeat the opportunity was one hard to fathom. Istanbul was much more relaxed experience and at one point in the best spirit and tradition of our last year’s tour guide; “Mert”, I dragged members of the ship’s company (thankfully much to their delight) on a free tour around the Grand Bazaar and other sights of Istanbul. Oh and the Grand bazaar… did I mention the Grand Bazaar? I can only imagine the economic boost HMAS Anzac had over the week she spent anchored off Istanbul in the Bosphorus Strait. Ninety members of ship’s company formed a skeleton crew on ANZAC day morning as the remainder of the crew boarded ferries and HMAS Anzac’s RHIB in turns to make the journey ashore to Anzac Cove. It was eerie feeling thinking that this would have been a very similar view of the Cove that the Digger’s would have seen ninety years ago. Leading Seaman Aaron Geeves, Able Seaman Damian Dowd and Able Seaman Andrew Hansch had the honour however, of being in Anzac Cove on Anzac Day as members of the crew on HMAS Anzac providing the music for the Anzac Day service held on board. The “Festival of the Sea” at the Turkish resort town of Marmaris was a fairly event filled stop over. There were ships and representatives from the USA, UK, French, Italian, Russian, German, Ukrainian, Turkish, Greek, Romanian and Spanish Navies as well as ourselves. Having the smallest parade contingent did not deter the local crowd from giving the Australians the biggest cheers of the day. We performed every day in various capacities: performing marches and jazz at the Australian Navy (HMAS Anzac) stall at the International Seafaring Exhibition. We also performed with the Russian Navy Band in the Armatulan district: They were very impressed by the performance of our detachment’s comparatively tiny (to the Russian Navy’s 60 piece contingent) Jazz Group. We then played Australian Rock songs to the excited crowd (including the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop who seemed to be enjoying herself more than anyone!) at the Areena night-club to end the week’s festivities. On to Malta and to Toulon in France where we all took some well deserved leave and dissipated over the country-sides of France and Spain to meet up with the ship in La Coruña Spain.