HMAS

Miramar II

MY Miramar II was a pleasure cruiser built by Halvorsens at Neutral Bay in 1930 for Stuart F Doyle, Commodore of the Royal Motor Yacht Club (RMYC), and was launched on 15 March 1930 replacing Mr Doyle’s previous yacht named Miramar, which had been destroyed by fire in 1929. Miramar II, like her predecessor, was flagship of the RMYC. She was powered by two 6-cylinder Hall-Scott marine engines, each generating 175hp. At a length of 75 feet (22.85 metres) and a beam of 15 feet (4.5 metres), she was the largest of the channel patrol boats requisitioned by the RAN in WWII. She was, at the time of her launching, described by the press as “Australia’s most luxurious yacht”.

Miramar II was requisitioned by the Navy on 26 May 1941 and commissioned as HMAS Miramar, as a tender to HMAS Penguin, on 19 August 1941 under the command of Lieutenant Charles Inman, RANVR. Her name had been corrected to Miramar II by January 1943. She was armed with a .303 Vickers machine gun mounted on the foredeck and depth charges astern, and ASDIC sound-ranging equipment (a forerunner to SONAR).

Miramar II conducted patrol duties in and around Sydney Harbour for the duration of the war. She was transferred to the Naval Auxiliary Patrol in April 1944 and became a tender to HMAS Rushcutter at the same time, but was transferred back to the regular RAN in early 1945. She was decommissioned on 17 July 1945 and advertised for sale that December.

She appears to have been on sold at least twice, and was at one time owned by Reg Ansett and employed as a tourist craft in the Whitsunday area.

HMAS Miramar II first appeared in the October 1941 edition of the Navy List:https://seapower.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Navy_List-October-...

Reports of Proceedings submitted by the Commanding Officer of HMAS Miramar II can be found at: https://seapower.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Navy_List-October-... (AWM collection)