The HMAS Newcastle has ploughed into the Hunter’s harbour for the second last time, to fanfare and a seven-round salute.
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Fort Scratchley Historical Society president Frank Carter said about 250 people gathered at the fort on Saturday afternoon to get a glimpse of the naval vessel named after Newcastle before it is decommissioned next year.
Mr Carter told the Herald the frigate passed Nobbys Head about an hour behind schedule because of general traffic in and out of the harbour, and arrived about 2.15pm.
Fort Scratchley’s number two gun fired a seven-round salute as the vessel entered in Hunter waters.
“Lots of people out there have a great deal of pride that we’ve still got a ship named after the city,” Mr Carter said.
HMAS Newcastle was deployed to the Middle East in the second half of 2017 and has spent this year being used in exercises in Australian waters.
The ship’s commanding officer Commander Anita Sellick was born and bred in the Hunter, according to the Department of Defence.
EARLIER REPORT:
THE city’s namesake will berth in port on Saturday morning in one of the ship’s last visits before its scheduled decommissioning.
The HMAS Newcastle is scheduled to pass through Nobbys shortly before 2pm in a short visit. The Adelaide class frigate, which was commissioned in late 1993, will receive a salute from the guns at Fort Scratchley as she arrives. The long-range escort vessel has in recent years deployed to East Timor and the Solomon Islands as well as participating in Operation Catalyst in the Persian Gulf. It is the first Royal Australian Navy vessel to bear the city’s name.
The youngest of its class, the HMAS Newcastle is scheduled for decommissioning next year as the class is progressively retired. A visit in April last year had been expected to be the vessel’s last stop in Newcastle, with its 184 servicemen and women taking part in a Freedom on Entry march during that visit. HMAS Newcastle is scheduled to depart 6pm on Tuesday.