11/19/2016 Australia’s Argonauts: RAN College’s first class | Australian Naval Institute

http://navalinstitute.com.au/australias­argonauts­ran­colleges­first­class/ 1/3

(http://navalinstitute.com.au/wp-

content/uploads/Australias-Argonauts-

cover.jpg)Australia’s Argonauts: TheRemarkable Story of the First Class toenter the Royal Australian Naval College.By Vice Admiral Peter Jones, RAN (Ret.)Echo Books, West Geelong, 2016. Reviewed by Dr Gregory P. Gilbert

ON 1 February 1913 the �rst class ofstudents entered the newly establishedRoyal Australian Naval College (RANC) inwhat was to be one of the mostinteresting social experiments in ournation’s history. Twenty eight 13-year-oldboys had been selected to be schooled inthe naval profession, to be turned intouniquely Australian naval o�cers whocould serve alongside their Britishequivalents with pride. ‘Australia’sArgonauts’ is the story of how these boysdeveloped into young naval o�cersduring World War I and, in many cases,into the naval commanders of World WarII. A few survived the war and post-wardemobilisation to help establishAustralia’s naval policy for much of the second half of the 20th Century.

When these boys were selected many people in Australia and overseas did not believe that youngAustralians could be moulded into loyal, disciplined and dedicated naval gentlemen. There was a beliefthat Australian colonials did not have the right stu�, being far too wild to be e�cient o�cers akin totheir Royal Navy equivalents. The �rst class to enter the RANC was to prove the doubters wrong. Fromthe start the 1913 Entry saw themselves as ‘Pioneers’ who were selected from the best of the best acrossthe country, based upon academic and physical abilities rather than class or family connections, andtheir professional training was as exacting as the training of Royal Navy o�cers at BRITANNIA NavalCollege in the UK, if not more so. The Australian Government was committed to see the RANC succeedand ensured that it was suitably funded. The RANC ‘Pioneers’ became the shining example of whatAustralians could achieve when they put their minds to it and the boys selected on behalf of the nationdid not let anyone down.

(http://navalinstitute.com.au/)

N O V E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

Australia’s Argonauts: RAN College’s�rst class

11/19/2016 Australia’s Argonauts: RAN College’s first class | Australian Naval Institute

http://navalinstitute.com.au/australias­argonauts­ran­colleges­first­class/ 2/3

While the RANC is the link that brings the 1913 class together ‘Australia’s Argonauts’ is very much morethan a story about military education and the college. Peter Jones sees people as a fundamentalcomponent of the Royal Australian Navy as an institution. By presenting a well-written narrative basedupon the interwoven lives of these 28 men, Jones is able to construct a framework that re�ects upon thehistorical events that contributed to the professionalization of the Royal Australian Navy. The result is anabsorbing story of people, places and occurrences, spread over �fty years or more, where events pop-upand then fade away revealing information which will inform and indeed inspire the reader. Thecharacters’ lives in the book move in and out of view like individual strands of spaghetti in a ‘spaghettidiagram’ (or ‘point-to-point �ow chart) – however, not all spaghetti strands extend across the diagram asmany are cut short by disease, accident or war. While the navy dominated some character’s lives, othersled fruitful and meaningful lives when their naval careers ceased much sooner than anyone expected.

John Collins, the most famous of the ‘Pioneer’ class who later became Australia’s �rst Chief of Naval Sta�and Vice-Admiral, was certainly correct when he attributed his successful naval career more to luck thanany other cause. Although Collins probably understated his capabilities, it is true that a number of othermembers of the 1913 Entry would have reached the highest levels of the Australia naval profession iftheir luck held out or their circumstances were only slightly di�erent.

Despite the selection process ensuring that only the �ttest and the physically strong formed the 1913Entry, the �rst to give his life was Otto Albert through meningitis in May 1914. Three Cadet Midshipmenwere discharged before graduation returning to civil life and uncertain futures. The next to die was DickCunningham, along with 47 other crew members, in the RN submarine K17 following a collision in whatwas to become known as the Battle of May Island on 31 January 1918. The ‘Pioneer’ class’s casualty listcontinued to grow after the war ended. Frank Larkins accidentally lost his life when he was sweptoverboard o� the casing of the RAN submarine J2 on the night of 19/20 June 1919 while transiting pastSumatra on his return to Australia.

Such lesser known events are followed by some of the more common events of Australian naval historyduring WWII – HMAS SYDNEY in the Mediterranean, the loss of Singapore, the Coast Watchers and navalintelligence, the loss of HMAS CANBERRA, HMA Ships AUSTRALIA and SHROPSHIRE in the Philippines. Bylooking through the lens of the 1913 Entry biographies, Peter Jones is able to refocus these eventsportraying a much more personal and nuanced story of these events as they unfolded. The chapter ‘SadSongs of the Death of Sailors’ describes the savage losses from late 1941 until early 1943.

In 1939 John Collins and Harold Farncomb were both seen as possible future Australian Chiefs of NavalSta�, however by 1945 Farncomb was considered a political liability due to his excess alcoholconsumption (o�-duty). Having commanded both Australian and British warships, including HMSATTACKER, as well as the Australian Squadron – December 1944 to July 1945 – Farncomb was somewhatworn-out by the end of the war. The Naval Board could have rested him after the war but e�ectivelychose not to and this ultimately led to Farncomb leaving the Service and becoming a Barrister.

‘Australia’s Argonauts’ is a remarkably rewarding tale of some of our nation’s lesser known people whoare linked but not necessarily de�ned by their naval experience. It tells of the men who experienced thejoys, frustrations and tragedies of naval life in the 20th Century. It is a well-researched and originalhistory, not just of naval o�cers but of the lesser known ‘Pioneers’ who helped form our nation, itspeople and its values.

‘Australia’s Argonauts’, although more than 640 pages long, is well written and a pleasure to read. The150 photographs accompanying the text provide a window into these people’s lives. It is highlyrecommended for anyone who is interested in Australian history and a must for those who are lookingfor a modern approach to Australian naval history.

Copies of ‘Australia’s Argonauts’ are available direct from the publishers via www.echobooks.com.au/book-shop/australias-argonauts(http://www.echobooks.com.au/book-shop/australias-

11/19/2016 Australia’s Argonauts: RAN College’s first class | Australian Naval Institute

http://navalinstitute.com.au/australias­argonauts­ran­colleges­first­class/ 3/3

argonauts) as well as from the Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble and Booktopia on-linebookstores.