Our People in NSW
Vanessa Florance and Rebecca Florance - Chisholm Sisters on Navy World Trip
Chisholm sisters Able Seaman Steward Vanessa Florance and Seaman Combat Systems Operator Rebecca Florance, both joined the Royal Australian Navy in the same year. After being away on training for the majority of 2008, the girls discovered at home in last Christmas that they would depart on a round-the-world trip with the Royal Australian Navy.
The sisters sailed from Sydney on April 20, one aboard HMAS Sydney and the other aboard HMAS Ballarat and they are now well into their journey on Northern Trident 2009, a six month, 25,000 kilometre voyage.
The two ships are acting as a platform for Australian diplomacy, boosting Australian Defence Industry at trade fairs in India and Spain, as well as exercising with foreign navies including Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Travelling westward, the ships have now exercised with the navies of Canada and the United States of America and will soon work with Navies of Caribbean nations, including the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago before heading across the Pacific to Japan. During the deployment, the ships – and the sisters – will be traversing both the Suez and Panama Canals.
By joining the Navy both sisters are following in the steps of their father, Andrew Florance. “Dad was an Oberon class Submariner so we’d grown up with a Navy lifestyle” said Vanessa. “We’d always enjoyed moving about and particularly meeting new people. Joining the Navy seemed like a logical step for us both.”
It was the Navy that initially brought the family to Canberra in 2005 when Andrew was posted to a shore-based position after his years in the submarine world. Growing up in Chisholm, both girls attended Calwell High school, with Rebecca later attending Lake Tuggeranong College, graduating in 2007. Being away on a long trip it’s the little things that they are missing about their Canberra home; walking around Lake Burley Griffin on a weekend or watching a Brumbies game on TV, but they have never regretted their decision to join the Navy and take the opportunity to see the world.
“It’s been a long trip, but one filled with some awesome opportunities. I’ve had the chance to get henna tattoos in India and I know that Vanessa is looking forward to jet skiing in Hawaii when we visit in a few short weeks. Nevertheless I’ll be looking forward to getting back to Chisholm to catch up with my mates from school and head out to Mooseheads,” Rebecca said.