Afternoon Tea Celebrating the Centenary of the NSW Section of the Naval Association of Australia
Monday, 23 February 2026
Government House
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC
Bujari Gamarruwa
Diyn Babana, Gamarada Gadigal Ngura
In greeting you in the language of the Gadigal, Traditional Owners of these lands and waterways, I pay my respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.
It is a privilege to welcome you today as your centenary year draws to a close—a privilege because what your Association stands for as its history has unfolded over these last 100 years.
Usually, the protocol is to begin my remarks with a list of acknowledgments of the dignitaries carefully ordered by precedence. Today, however, I’m not going to do that because your Association is distinguished by particular quality best encapsulated in the saying “rank and rate—stops at the front gate.”[1]
Last week in Albury, I saw a building bearing the name 'Mates' which made me wonder where the word came from, given it is one of the most common words in what I might describe as the Australian language.
I found two closely related sources—one from the Middle Low German gemate or ‘messmate’ which is cognate with Dutch maat and German Maat and is often used for sailors.
The other source is the Old Dutch word ‘Matelot’ meaning ‘bunkmates’, which, travelling through French and then into English, ended up in British Royal Navy slang to refer to sailors and, in particular, shipmates.
I chanced upon the Dutch word in the title of a 1980 article describing your origins when several matelots—or, more specifically, ex-matelots—are described as running into each other in early 1920, on the footpath outside Young and Jacksons Hotel, opposite Flinders Street Station, in Melbourne.[2]
The details of that meeting have, over the ensuing 105 years, become somewhat blurred: some say there were “two old sea-dogs”[3] involved, some say three;[4] some say one was a policeman on duty, others that one was with his wife;[5] some say the meeting was fleeting, others that it involved a fair bit of drinking.
What is certain is that all present decided that that chance encounter deserved a better-planned reunion.
And so… a dinner was organised—or, to use the phraseology of an advertisement for the occasion in the Herald, “a grand smoke social and reunion” for “time-expired and discharged men of [the] HMS Challenger, Psyche, Katoomba, and [the] Royal Australian Navy.”[6]
It was a roaring success with some “100 persons” attending[7]—and from that and other functions like it, arose the idea for a formal association… and, hence, the inauguration, by the end of that year, of the Ex Naval Men’s Association,[8] with officers elected and badges distributed.[9]
Starting with 20,[10] membership soon ballooned 15-fold to 300 by 1923,[11] an expansion which included, in 1922, amalgamation with the China Naval Contingent Association,[12] which had been founded in 1901 by naval men who’d seen service in the Boxer Rebellion in China, and which was the forerunner of all returned service organisations in Australia.[13]
Beyond continuing the esprit de corps so particular to service in the navy—for instance, through social occasions such as “Smoke ’Os”[14], dances, dinners, and moonlit musical boat trips[15]—the Association’s raison d’être from the outset, and encapsulated in the Association’s first motto, ‘Each for All and All for Each’[16], was to unite former Navy personnel for the express purpose of mutual benefit.
Socialising was combined with advocacy and support... with funds raised for ex-Navy men and their families who had fallen on hard times,[17] and help provided to those who had left the Navy to find work.[18]
This work, and advocacy, was fruitful, and didn’t go unnoticed. At a “smoke night” in November 1924, Rear-Admiral Hall-Thompson[19] addressed the membership, who numbered now close to 500,[20] and congratulated them for their work in looking after each other, having been told that every single employable ex-naval man in Melbourne had been found a job.[21]
A year later, the Association had 600 members and was expanding into NSW, with the opening of a branch in Sydney on the 7th of April 1925.[22]
Like your southern sibling, your Section grew quickly. Within a year, membership was “almost 500”, during which time, according to the papers of the time, 32 NSW men had been helped into employment.[23] Within three years, with a membership of 650,[24] authorisation was given to open your own Sub-Sections, the first being in Newcastle, which opened in April 1928.[25]
There were more changes to come… in 1945, at the annual national conference, it was decided that women with at least 12 months service in the Navy could be admitted to the Association,[26] although fifteen years passed before that change was reflected in your name, when in 1960, your name changed to the Naval Association of Australia.[27]
That change was also a better reflection of what your organisation had evolved into; one in which past and present Naval personnel are entitled to join,[28] and one which continued—as it still does today—the camaraderie and commitment to looking out for each other, regardless of rank, that started it all.
In reflecting on the storied history of your organisation, you can all be proud. Together, you have exemplified, and continue to embody, the core objectives laid out in your constitution:[29]
- To Care for Navy and ex-Navy men and women.
- To Commemorate the service and sacrifice of Royal Australian Navy ships and personnel in various conflicts.
- To assist young Australians become better citizens through supporting the Australian Navy Cadets program
- To grow Camaraderie by bringing members together to meet and socialise with like-minded Navy and ex-Navy men and women, and their partners.
- And to engage with, and support, the local Communities in which your Sub-Section members live.
To this, I would also add, your efforts to preserve our naval heritage and communicate its contribution to our past, present, and future.
To all of you, representatives from the 15 Sub-Sections in NSW[30]—from Lismore in the north, to the Shoalhaven in the south—I offer congratulations and thanks to you all as you continue to live the values instilled by your naval service, and thereby fulfilling your motto, ‘Once Navy, Always Navy.’[31]
[1] Les Dyer, ‘Identified by Association’, Royal Australian Navy News, 7 September 2006, p.17, available here
[2] ‘Ex-Matelots Street Corner Reunion Launched Naval Association of Australia’, Royal Australian Navy News, 18 April 1980, p.9, available here; ‘Young and Jackson: Welcome to Melbourne’s Most Iconic Hotel’, Young and Jackson website, available here
[4] ‘Ex-Matelots Street Corner Reunion Launched Naval Association of Australia’, op. cit. The article cites the three individuals as “Alex Smith, John Higginbottam and Arthur Broodie”: ibid. A J Smith was the founding President, and J. Higginbotham the founding Hon Secretary of the Ex-Naval Men’s Association: ‘Portrait of John James William Higginbotham and his Wife’, Australian War Memorial website, available here. Higginbotham, from South Melbourne, enlisted in the Australian Naval Force in 1906, serving on the Psyche: ‘Australian Naval Force: John Jones William Higginbotham’, Australian War Memorial website, available here
[6] “A grand smoke social and reunion of time-expired and discharged men of HMS Challenger, Psyche, Katoomba, and Royal Australian Navy will be held in the Manchester Unity Hall, Swanston St., opposite Public Library, Friday night July 30th […] Roll up and meet your old ship mates. A J Smith, President. J Higginbotham, Secretary”: ‘Meetings and Lectures’, The Herald [Melbourne], 29 July 1920, p.16, available here. This was not the Manchester Unity Building currently standing on Swanston Street, which was built in the 1930s, but, rather, an Oddfellows Hall that, although once also on Swanston Street, was further north, opposite the State Library of Victoria.
[7] ‘GREGARIOUS SAILORS: Yes, That’s What They Are’, Sun News-Pictorial [Melbourne], 12 July 1923, p.10, available here
[8] ‘Where it All Began!’, Naval Association of Australia website, available here; ‘Identified by Association’, Royal Australian Navy News, 7 September 2006, p.17, available here.
[9] “Ex Navalmen’s Association General Meeting, Manchester Unity Hall, Swanson Street. Wednesday, 15th September 1920. Business—Distributing of Badges. Reading of Rules. Members and Intending Members are requested to attend”: ‘Meetings and Lecture’, Herald [Melbourne], 13 September 1920, p.14, available here
[10] “The reunion was held by the Ex-Naval Men’s Association and it marked the growth of the organisation from 20 men…”: ‘FORMER NAVAL MEN MEET. REAR-ADMIRAL “AMAZED”’, The Argus [Melbourne], 21 November 1924, p.13, available here
[11].“[T]he Ex-Naval Men's Association, which, although it has been in existence since 1920 only, has now a membership of about 300: ‘GREGARIOUS SAILORS: Yes, That’s What They Are’, Sun News-Pictorial [Melbourne], 12 July 1923, p.10, available here
[12] ‘Australian Naval History on 1 November 1920’, Naval Historical Society of Australia website, available here
[13] ‘Where it All Began!’, Naval Association of Australia website, available here; ‘Chinese War Veteran’, Otago Daily Times, 29 June 1939, p.20, available here
[15] For instance, “EX-NAVAL Men’s Association— Special Meeting at Unity Hall, Bourke St. W. Next Wednesday Night, 8 p.m. All Time-Expired Men are requested to attend. Business: Smoke Night, Balance-sheet and Proposal for Social for Members’ Wives and Children”: The Herald [Melbourne], 29 November 1920, p. 14, available here; “GRAND SMOKE SOCIAL, held under the auspices of the ex-Naval Men’s Association, in Unity Hall, Bourke St. W., on Saturday night, Sept. 24 at 7.45 pm. Open to all comers. Come and see the famous Skugee Band. A good night’s fun”: The Herald [Melbourne], 23 September 1921, p.11, available here; and “EX Naval Men’s Association— Moonlight trip per s.s. Rosny leaving Queen’s Bridge at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Feb. 21. Select music, concert on board. Items by Association’s Jazz Band”: The Herald [Melbourne], 17 February 1922, p.9, available here
[16] ‘GREGARIOUS SAILORS: Yes, That’s What They Are’, Sun News-Pictorial [Melbourne], 12 July 1923, p.10, available here
[17] For instance: “Members of the Ex-Naval Men’s Association have unanimously decided to replace the special evening, arranged solely for members’ wives and families, by a benefit night, the proceeds of which will go to the wife and children of the present assistant secretary, who is suffering from a serious illness”: The Herald [Melbourne], 16 March 1921, p.11, available here; and “NAVAL REUNION: At Unity Hall, this evening, the Ex-Naval Men’s Association is holding a special evening for the wives and families of members. The proceeds will be devoted to a fund, recently opened by members, in aid of one of their comrades who is on the sick list”: The Herald [Melbourne], 23 April 1921, p.18, available here. The ‘comrade’, Mr T Waite, who was a foundation member of the Association, died on 22 July 1922 “from a long illness”, his funeral attended by “former shipmates from the Challenger, Katoomba, and the old cruiser Psyche”: The Herald [Melbourne], 24 July 1922, p.9, available here
[18] “One of […] [the Association’s] chief activities is the finding of suitable employment for men leaving the service and assisting out of work members, and its efforts in this direction have been eminently successful”: ‘GREGARIOUS SAILORS: Yes, That’s What They Are’, Sun News-Pictorial [Melbourne], 12 July 1923, p.10, available here
[19] Rear-Admiral Percival Henry Hall-Thompson was First Naval Member and Chief of Royal Australian Naval Staff at the time, and would become the Association’s first Patron; he had been a member of the Royal Navy since 1887, and was integral to helping establish the New Zealand Navy before and during the First World War: ‘Biography: Hall-Thompson, Percival Henry’, Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand online, available here
[20] “The reunion was held by the Ex-Naval Men’s Association and it marked the growth of the organisation from 20 men, who at one time met occasionally to talk over old times, to its present strength of 464 members. The association’s objective is 1,000 members”: ‘FORMER NAVAL MEN MEET. REAR-ADMIRAL “AMAZED”’, The Argus [Melbourne], 21 November 1924, p.13, available here
[21] “Admiral Hall-Thompson, responding on behalf of the navy, congratulated the ex-naval men on the formation of their association, and said an organisation which could look after former members of the navy and find employment for them would be invaluable. He had been informed that only four ex-naval men in Melbourne were now unemployed, and they were ‘too damaged’ to work. Every employable man had been found employment. (Hear, hear.)”: ‘NAVAL MEN FOREGATHER: Assisting Old Comrades’, The Age [Melbourne], 21 November 1924, p.10, available here
[23] “The idea is not merely to find employment for those men who have retired from the Navy, but to keep them together by means of social functions. In New South Wales the membership is almost 500, whilst in Melbourne there are a thousand members. During the last year 32 men have been placed in employment through the unofficial services of the association”: ‘OLD SAILORS: THEY’RE MOSTLY CARE-TAKERS’, The Sun [Sydney], 9 September 1926, p.3, available here
[24] “Mr Martin explained that the association had its origin in Victoria about seven years ago, and at present there were 1500 members in that State. The New South Wales Association was started three years ago, and now [1928] had 650 members”: ‘EX-NAVAL MEN: NEWCASTLE ASSOCIATION’, Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 19 April 1928, p.4, available here
[26] ‘WOMEN ELIGIBLE FOR EX-NAVAL MEN’S ASSN.’, Daily Mirror [Sydney], 7 February1945, p.2, available here
[27] ‘Ex-Naval Men’s Association: Change of Title’, Royal Australian Navy News, 1 July 1960, p.10, available here
[28] ibid; Les Dyer, ‘Identified by Association’, Royal Australian Navy News, 7 September 2006, p.17, available here
[30] ‘New South Wales’, Naval Association of Australia website, available here. The NSW Sub-Sections are: Campbelltown, Central Coast, Gerringong, Illawarra, Lismore-Casino, Naval Health Service, Naval Reserve, Nepean/Blue Mountains, Newcastle, Orange, Parramatta Memorial, Port Stephens, Rooty Hill, Shoalhaven, and Sydney/Country: ibid.