OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NAVY LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA
Published 1920 to 1932 then continuously from April 1938
75 Years of Publication.

All enquiries about the magazine should be sent to -
Navy League of Australia
GPO Box 1719 Sydney NSW 1043 Australia
Telephone: +61 (0)2 9232 2144 Facsimile: +61 (0)2 9232 8383
Email:navyleag@netspace.net.au

The Navy League in Australia - 100 Years On
By Geoffrey Evans

It is a matter for regret that the early history of the Navy League in Australia is lost in the mists of time but it is known beyond doubt that a branch of Britain's Navy League was formed in Launceston in the year 1900 - on 26th November of that year to be precise - and called the North Tasmanian Branch.
The parent Navy League was formed in Britain in 1894 with the commendable object of "urging upon the Government and the Electorate the paramount importance of an adequate Navy as the best guarantee of Peace." Of concern at the time was the high proportion of foreigners in British Merchant ships, the crews of which were largely interchangeable with those manning Royal Navy ships and formed the Navy's Reserve: It was believed the foreign element weakened the Royal Navy.
At the turn of the century the Royal Navy was still as vital to the wellbeing of the Dominions and Colonies as it was to Britain and Navy League Branches were soon established throughout the Empire. Northern Tasmania was No. 53 while in our region Auckland was No. 12 (formed in 1896) and Wellington No. 80 (formed 1904). Branches were also formed in Sydney and Melbourne but the writer has no knowledge of the dates

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II inspects members of the Navy League of Australia's Sea Cadet contingent at Buckingham Palace in June 1952. The Cadets were attending the 2nd Empire Sea Cadet Training Course. Lieutenant F. Geoffory Evans RANVR accompanies the Queen with Admiral Sir Louis Hamilton in the background.

Following the example of the present Navy League, the overseas Branches established organisations designed to encourage young men - teenagers - to take an interest in the sea and nautical affairs. Over the years these organisations carried a variety of names including the early 'Navy League Boys Naval Brigade,' 'NL Sea Cadets' and (in Australia) 'Australian Sea Cadet Corps' and since 1973 the Government sponsored "Naval Reserve Cadets' - the latter a misnomer as the cadets are not members of the Defence Force. A Navy League was also established in the United States at the turn of the century, but more about this latter.
From their inception until World War II the Australian branches of the Navy League took a sporadic interest in naval defence, members spending most of their time and money on sea cadet training units that had been formed in Northern Tasmania, Sydney and Melbourne. This situation continued until after the war.
In 1947 the Branches formed a loose coalition and sought naval assistance for the NL Cadets. The Naval Board not surprisingly declined to negotiate with a London based organisation and it was not until 1950 that the Navy League of Australia came into being as an autonomous body, governed by a Federal Council that included representatives from each State and Territory of the Commonwealth.
The first Federal Council headed by Commander (S) John Bates RANR (later knighted) consisted of retired RAN and wartime Reserve Officers whose first task was to gain recognition and practical assistance from Navy for the cadets. An Australian Sea Cadet Corps (ASCC) was formed with Divisions corresponding to the States and Territories, a partnership arranged with the Navy and a Sea Cadet Council consisting of naval and Navy League representatives formed to oversee the activities of the Corps.
The Naval Defence Act (this was in the days when the Navy, Army and Air Force were separate Departments of State and had their own rules and regulations) limited the assistance Navy could provide but it was invaluable nevertheless. It included the provision of uniforms, responsibility for training and the supply of some training equipment: the Navy League was responsible for everything else including accommodation (drill halls) and administration.
In the event the ASCC prospered and expanded from less than 500 cadets in 3 states in 1948/49 to 1700 in 1958 and 2500 in 1963. As growth continued unabated, Navy no doubt prompted by the treasury became concerned about the escalating cost, while Navy League had major problems in funding the buildings required for new Units. Moreover the size of Australia and vast distances caused administrative problems. In practice each Division of the Sea Cadet Corps virtually ran itself.
In 1966 a small sub-committee of the Sea Cadets Council was formed to advise on the future of the ASCC. There were only 3 members - the Director of Naval reserves who was chairman of the Council, the Federal President of the League (CMDR. John Howse) and the writer as Vice-President.
Given the legal limits placed on naval assistance to what was regarded as a private organisation, as well as the financial strain on the Navy League, the sub-committee recommended that the Sea Cadet Corps be made the responsibility of the Navy and brought into line with the Army's school cadets and the Air Training Corps. The recommendation was accepted by the Naval Board and the Federal Council of the Navy League and the League lost its cadet organisation on 1st. January 1973.
Although giving priority to its Cadet training activities the Federal Council did not neglect the naval scene and supported the RAN's efforts to establish a carrier based fleet air arm. However, while the future of the ASCC was being discussed other more worrying events were taking place.
The nineteen sixties were unhappy years for the RAN - it had been a period of accidents including the MELBOURNE / VOYAGER collision and the drowning of a number of midshipmen from the carrier SYDNEY. Many in the Navy League felt more interest should be taken in the naval situation while the Chief of Naval Staff, Sir Victor Smith, obviously thinking along the same lines, sought the support of the wider naval community, in particular the Navy League and the Naval Association.
So far as the league was concerned one of the difficulties was lack of knowledge of the RAN's problems, of information that was essential if the League was to be of any real assistance to the Navy. In the event an understanding was reached between the principals involved and the League has been consistently well-briefed by Navy for more than 25 years.
The Navy League also found that the more deeply it became involved in naval affairs and with the integration of the three Service Departments into a single Department of Defence, a need to think more broadly and to embrace not only the role of the Army and Air Force but foreign affairs, defence policies and not least, the commercial shipping industry. The seventies and eighties were a stimulating period for the Federal Council.
The wider interests had an effect on the composition of the League's membership - people interested in youth training are not necessarily interested in national security issues and vice versa, although it is of course an advantage when they do coincide. After the 1973 'take over' of the ASCC, while the League continued to support the NRC - indeed, when the Government decided in 1975 to abolish the three Service- sponsored cadet organisations the intercession of the Navy league kept the NRC intact until a new Government re-introduced cadet training - the League was able to give more attention to maritime affairs in general and to diversify its membership by including representatives of most parts of the maritime community.
A more representative membership enabled the League to participate actively in many issues involving the country's maritime wellbeing, from the hotly debated aircraft carrier debate that continued through the 'seventies until 1984, the decline in Australian flagged merchant shipping; the place of Reserves in increasingly sophisticated navies; regional relationships and other issues vital to Australia's future.
In many respects the Navy League of Australia became less like its British Commonwealth counterparts and more akin to the influential Navy League of the United States (NLUS) which, while supporting a sea cadet organisation, focussed its attention on America's naval and maritime needs.
The largest and certainly the most expensive project undertaken by the League in Australia ( it cost over $200,000 and could not have been completed without the aid of a generous benefactor) was an educational video titled "The Sea and Australia": A two-and-a half-hour video - six self-contained episodes on a single tape it covers:
Episode 1 The Voyage of the First Fleet, A Tour of Sydney Cove and Port Jackson The Exploration and Early Settlement of Australia
Episode 2 The Nature of the Sea
Episode 3 The Resources of the Sea
Episode 4 Commercial Shipping, Ports and Harbours.
Episode 5 Navigation and Safety at Sea
Episode 6 Protection and Conservation (including a short history of the birth and development of the RAN)
The video was distributed free of charge to over 2,500 secondary schools in Australia, happily with the co-operation of six separate State educational authorities and continues to be sought by groups involved with the sea.
The most lasting of the Navy League's contributions has been THE NAVY, a magazine produced since 1938 and currently a quarterly distributed throughout Australia. For a substantial part of this period THE NAVY provided the RAN with a 'voice' not otherwise available to the 'Silent Service'. While the Navy League can still express naval problems (with or without the Navy's prior knowledge) through THE NAVY, changes in the defence organisation including the establishment of sophisticated PR facilities within the Department of Defence and a plethora of defence orientated publications, have helped to create problems for high quality magazines such as THE NAVY which are increasingly costly to produce and distribute.
As the Navy League in Australia enters its 100th year and the 21st century dawns, the question needs to be asked - will there be a place for a Navy League in a world that has changed in so many ways in the 20th century? Or for that matter, other maritime-conscious organisations?
The writer believes the answer is probably "yes". One thing has not changed - the sea and its continuing influence on the affairs of nations and communities worldwide. An organisation dedicated to reminding generations of Australians of the vital importance of the sea to their wellbeing in both peacetime and war will almost certainly need to keep on reminding future generations that the sea is not simply a place for leisure.
In terms of security, recent events close to Australia have no doubt jolted many Australians who have grown complacent about their country's future and suddenly compelled to realize how close they are to their neighbours and how different the conditions under which those neighbours live - and die. Memories however tend to be short and again, the Australian Navy League's task as an educational body would seem endless. It is however for the present generation of young Australians to produce leaders to willingly accept the responsibilities involved.