Tiger-pie

Yes, correctly spelt Kamp Holland Regards; Johnsy

On the move again, from the ASLAV in the lead, the patrol heads to another sector.

Getting on with the job. A curious child watches as a trooper eyes the valley floor.

Keeping in touch with the locals is an important method of gaining trust and information, members of the patrol converse with a local as a child looks on.

Caution and care is taken at all stages of the patrol, a gunner keeps a lookout on the flank.

Moving back out into the valley.

Locals are questioned as a comrade looks on.

...so an ever watchful perimeter is set up.

A brief pause...

Moving through another small hamlet.

A well armed patrol prepares to set off on foot, under the ever present watch of either the Bushmaster and/or ASLAV.

An ASLAV watches on from a ridge above. This silouettes the vehicle, but allows it to pour down covering fire from above to aid foot patrols should they have a hot contact.

A shot of the Austeyr F88 with grenade launcher attatched.

Lending a hand to move a locals tractor.

Bushmasters move down a valley floor.

Guess this is what they call the money shot... HMAS Larrakia under speed during her sea trials. The new generation looks good.

Nikon D2X.

The old and the new. The new Armidale Class PBs are a vast improvment over their predecessors, armed with the 25mm Bushmaster on a Typhoon mount plus two .50 Cal BMGs, with provision for two more BMGs if needed.

The pennant number is difficult to read, looks like 211, which was HMAS Bendigo. This FFV is being escorted back into Darwin harbour to be processed by Customs.

Type III FFV, most if not all of these smaller types originate from Indonesia. They are now commonly know as SIEVs, Suspected Illegal Immigrant Vessels.

HMAS Cessnock, spent three years on her, sitting alongside a Type II FFV, photo taken from ships RHIB.

The 40/60 Bofor, old but more than adequate for the job of fisheries patrols.

In formation at cruising speed, judging from the bow wave. Two of the four boats I served on are in the photo, HMA Ships Dubbo, foreground, and Wollongong, centre. Some patrols consisted of a lone boat, others two or more. This would allow one boat to patrol above the AFZ and one or more below. If FFV's (foreign fishing vessels) were spotted then we could catch them in a "pincer" movement before they got out of our waters.

Several boats firing up to head out for for patrols along the Australian Fisheries Zone (AFZ), "barking along the fence-line" as we termed it.

A subject close to my heart as I spent a about third of my 18 plus years in the Navy based in Darwin working in, on and around these boats and the 40/60 Bofor. We had in total 15 of these vessels to patrol an area (originally) from Perth in West Australia to the Bass Strait between Victoria and the island state of Tasmania!! This was reduced later to Port Headland across the north to Sydney, with the maximum effort concentrated across the northern and north-western regions. Still a huge area. By mid 2007 these will "pay-off" and be scrapped.