10 February 2025
Former Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Donald Chalmers (retd) has been piped aboard HMAS Kuttabul for the first time in almost a decade, reliving his time in the senior service as he visited Navy members.
Commander Australian Fleet Rear Admiral Christopher Smith warmly welcomed Vice Admiral Chalmers and his family, and discussed developments in the Navy since the former chief retired.
Appointed Chief of Navy in 1997, Vice Admiral Chalmers remained in the position until his retirement in 1999.
Vice Admiral Chalmers was given a tour of the Kuttabul wharf and the ships berthed alongside, reminiscing over the old and admiring the new.
“It’s fabulous to have ships like this and to see them and to think in my time how the hell would we have got them to work,” he said.
He stopped to admire replenishment oiler HMAS Supply; in his career he served as a navigation officer on an earlier iteration of the ship, from 1972 to 1974, and was involved in operations such as Help Darwin after 1974’s Cyclone Tracy.
On board the destroyer HMAS Brisbane, the former Chief of Navy was greeted cordially by a proud crew who shared highlights of their recent deployment, including an increase in capability through Australia’s first firing of the Tomahawk cruise missile.
'It’s fabulous to have ships like this and to see them and to think in my time how the hell would we have got them to work.'
Vice Admiral Chalmers and his five-year-old grandson disembarked the destroyer wearing matching gold-wreathed Brisbane caps and pocketing challenge coins.
Vice Admiral Chalmers said he was pleased by the growing contribution of women in the Navy since he joined in 1958. He recalled a deployment to the Gulf in the early 1990s when he first witnessed the integration of females in ships.
“We’d never done it before,” he said.
“The thing about it was that it bloody well worked. It was absolutely a positive change.”
Women in the Navy have been allowed to serve at sea since 1985.
Vice Admiral Chalmers’ career involved service on many vessels, including destroyers HMA Ships Voyager and Brisbane, the earlier HMAS Supply, aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, and destroyer HMAS Perth.
His tenure as Chief of Navy brought about a period of growth for the Navy, with the commissioning of new vessels including Collins-class submarines and Anzac-class frigates.
The former Chief of Navy said his career highlights included commanding the RAN Task Group during the Gulf War, for which he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.
