Propeller of HMAS Diamantina courtesy Queensland Maritime Museum
The story of the Titanic, the ill-fated passenger steamship that struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage in 1912 and sank, has an enduring fascination and is known to many. But right here in Brisbane is a ship of similar, if less glamorous, historical status.
The HMAS Diamantina, commissioned in 1945, was a warship, not a passenger ship, but her history is fascinating and her contribution significant. Best of all, she is not, like the Titanic, miles under the ocean, but docked at the Queensland Maritime Museum and open for tours.
Sole survivor
The ex-Navy frigate HMAS Diamantina is one of the most significant objects on display in Australia. She also happens to have a very strong Queensland connection, especially with the people of Queensland. Diamantina is the sole surviving River Class frigate in the world of the 133 such ships constructed by the UK, Canada and Australia. She was constructed at Walkers of Maryborough and commissioned into the RAN in 1945. The ship saw service in the Pacific Campaign and ultimately hosted the final surrender of World War II at Ocean Island on 1 October 1945.
The River Class frigate was a product of the Battle of the Atlantic in 1940. They were the first frigates constructed since the early 1800s. The success of the design was quickly realised by the UK, Canada, USA and Australia and the River Class became the benchmark for the design of frigates and destroyer escorts.
The frigate Diamantina is named after the river in western Queensland that gave us Waltzing Matilda. That river was named in honour of Countess Diamantina Roma Bowen, wife of Queensland's first Governor. The ship's crest is the family crest of Countess Diamantina.
A ship with a legacy
Diamantina was placed in reserve in 1946 and then recommissioned in 1959 for oceanographic and hydrographic research. The ship was assigned to the Indian Ocean and over the next 20 years her work placed Australia at the forefront of knowledge of that ocean. It was a thankless task but one of inestimable value.
In 1960 she discovered in the Southern Indian Ocean a fracture zone that carries her name. This region of 150,000 sq. nm (roughly six times the size of Tasmania) is called the Diamantina zone in recognition of her work. Three species of crustacean are named after her.
Diamantina is the largest and most complex World War II exhibit on display in Australia. She is a credit to her Australian builders, she is a tribute to the past and present personnel of the RAN and today she is a credit to the volunteers of the Queensland Maritime Museum who have cared for her for the past 29 years.
