125 years of Navy on Kuru Wharf

More than 300 personnel from Navy’s Darwin community gathered on Kuru Wharf, HMAS Coonawarra, on August 21 to mark Navy’s 125th anniversary.

Personnel from Coonawarra, Patrol Boat Group and other Darwin-based units formed a giant ‘125’ on the wharf, creating an aerial image that captured the scale of Navy’s presence in the Northern Territory.

The evolution was organised by Coonawarra’s First Lieutenant, LEUT Vincent Bornaghi, with the formation planned and executed by CPOB Steve Philpott, POB Shaun Holden and ABBM Lachlan Day, supported by the base’s boatswain staff.

“A lot of preparation was involved, it took almost two weeks of planning, and then coordinating all the personnel to train for the evolution,” LEUT Bornaghi said.

“I’m really pleased with how it turned out. The boatswains did a great job drilling everyone and forming us up.”

For CPO Philpott, the evolution was an opportunity to put the skills required for seamanship evolutions to use.

“I enjoy teaching the team that all tasks can be planned and managed, and evolutions such as this are simple maths, evolution management and patience,” CPO Philpott said.

“The result: 315 personnel into our formation 125.”

PO Holden emphasised the importance of teamwork and planning in seeing the evolution through from preparation to execution.

“I enjoyed being a part of the team, having a concept on paper transform into reality with smooth transition and great planning,” PO Holden said.

AB Day agreed.

“It was satisfying to watch my numbers on paper transform into numbers on pavement,” AB Day said.

“We could only estimate the final turnout ahead of time, so we had to plan around that, and it all came together without any problems because of teamwork and prior planning.”

Originally planned for about 200 members of the Darwin Navy community, the turnout exceeded expectations, requiring the team to adapt the formation on the day.

“The turnout was great, we initially expected about 200 personnel to be involved, however, on the day it turned out we had more than 300,” LEUT Bornaghi said.

CO Coonawarra CAPT Bernadette Alexander said the evolution was more than an opportunity to create a memorable image.

“While the photo speaks for itself, the benefit of this evolution was it served as an opportunity for great connection between personnel in preparing for the photo and taking time out together,” CAPT Alexander said.

For LEUT Bornaghi, the participation of the broader Darwin Navy community made the occasion particularly meaningful.

“Darwin is an important part of the Navy landscape, I’m proud of our contribution to the 125 years of Navy commemorations,” he said.

See more images here.