Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum > Records

HMAS Brisbane Proclamation Certificate to Stoker J. POULTER

« Prev Item Next Item »

Unknown

1935

Overview

Beige card with a border surrounding a drawing of HMAS Brisbane at the top, accompanied by a drawing of the ship’s motto the left hand side of the ship and a drawing of Neptune on the right hand side. Red and black text declares a proclamation as Stoker Poulter crossed the equator on 23 May 1935 enroute to England. Beneath the proclamation is the signature of Poulter and a drawn medal featuring an anchor with the artist’s name: Frank Horton in small print.

Historical information

HMAS Brisbane I, launched by Maragaret Fisher (wife of then P.M. Andrew Fisher) and commissioned in Sydney on 31 October 1913 was one of the first cruisers built for the Royal Australian Navy. First de-commissioned on 7 October 1925, re-commissioned and de-commissioned a number of times from then on, the ship was recommissioned at Sydney on 2 April 1935. On 2 May she sailed to England with a crew for HMAS Sydney (ex- HMS Phaeton), assisting HMAS Hastings, a sloop that had run aground in the Red Sea, along the way. The ship was finally decommissioned on 12 July 1935.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-12-2007.16.1

Themes

Defence > Navy

Material

Card

Width

275 mm

Height or length

375 mm

Weight

16 g

Inscriptions and markings

H.M.A.S. “Brisbane” / A Proclamation / To all whom it may concern / Whereas by Our Imperial Condescension We give this / as a Royal Patent under our Sign Manual to certify / that the under-mentioned person has this day visited / Our Royal Domains on board His Majesty’s Aus- / tralian Cruiser, “Brisbane, and has received the ancient requisite / initiation and form necessary to become one of Our Loyal / Subjects. / Should the undermentioned person fall overboard. having / become one of Our Loyal Subjects, We recommend all Sharks, / Dolphins, Wales etc., under Our Command, to abstain from / eating, playing with, or otherwise maltreating him. / And We further direct all Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Globe- / trotters etc who have not crossed our Royal Domains to treat / him with that respect due to one who has visited Us. / Given at Our Court on the Equator this Twenty-third day / of May, 1935.

There is a hand-written note on the back of the certificate: 1935 / HMAS Brisbane (coal burner) / Crossing the Line Ceremony / Going to England to pick up new cruiser HMAS SYDNEY

Contextual Information

John Charles Coulter enlisted on 11 December 1934 and was a stoker onboard HMAS Brisbane on its voyage to England in 1935. It is customary for sailors who have not crossed the Equator to take part in the ‘crossing the line’ ceremony, which has a long history and was dedicated to Neptune, god of the seas as a form of religious appeasement. Modern ceremonies have developed from the early ceremony and have become a way of inducting new and young sailors into life on the sea. It was adopted by the Royal Australian Navy in 1913 after the first naval voyage from England to Australia and is looked forward to by the crew as it is a break from normal routine where novice sailors are inducted, usually by being dunked or sprayed with water, by senior members of the crew after appearing before a ‘royal’ court. It is seen as a means of promoting unity amongst the ship’s crew. Coulter was discharged on 10 December 1951 after 17 years’ service in the RAN.

Keywords

HMAS Brisbane I

Crossing the Equator proclamation certificate

Royal Australian Navy

Stoker John Poulter

Place made

Australia

Year

1935

Primary significance criteria

Artistic or aesthetic significance

Historic significance