The seine trawler June commissioned in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as HMAS June on 24 July 1943 under the command of Assistant Surveyor 4th class Lieutenant Commander Stanley William Scott Robertson RAN (Emergency List).

June had previously seen service with the United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) before being requisitioned by the RAN. To avoid confusion with the corvette of a similar name, HMAS Junee, the trawler’s name was changed to HMAS Winter in October 1943. On one occasion this confusion had led to 75 bags of mail being wrongly delivered to the small vessel - a confronting task for the small crew.

Winter was employed chiefly as a survey tender and radar maintenance vessel serving in New Guinea waters as part of Task Group 70.5 (TG 70.5). The task group, under the command of Commander KE Oom RAN, was responsible for survey operations in the South West Pacific Area. On 18 February 1944, while at anchor near Mambare River in company with HMA Ships Moresby and Stella, a lone Japanese Zero carried out an unsuccessful attack on the survey ships. Its single bomb missed Moresby’s starboard quarter by 150 yards.

In September 1944 Sub Lieutenant Gordon S Grace was appointed in command of Winter and later that year, following the conclusion of the New Guinea campaign, TG 70.5 was divided into three separate task units:

  • TU 70.5.1
  • TU 0.5.2
  • TU 70.5.3

Winter was assigned to TU 70.5.2 which comprised HMS Challenger, (Commander CW Sabine RN OBE), HMAS Polaris (Lieutenant Victor E Clarke RANR), HMAS Goolgwai (Lieutenant Stewart G Wissell RANR), HMAS Samuel Benbow (Lieutenant John L Nicoll RANVR MBE), HMAS Durraween (Lieutenant Commander Archie McK Furmedge RANR) and HDML 1353 (Lieutenant Ivan F Champion RANVR).

Winter did not fare well in the tropics. Its wooden construction was prone to leaking, and it needed a prolonged repair period on a slipway in Port Moresby in late 1944.

HMAS Winter undergoing repairs in Port Moresby, 1944.
HMAS Winter undergoing repairs in Port Moresby in1944.

Following the end of hostilities with Japan, Winter returned to Sydney where it decommissioned on 14 September 1945. Winter was sold on 25 January 1946.