top of page

HMAS GOULBURN J167

Namesake:          City of Goulburn, NSW

Builder:              Cockatoo Island Dockyard

Laid down:         10 July 1940

Launched:          16 November 1940

Commissioned:       28 February 1941

Decommissioned:   27 September 1946

 

Battle honours

Pacific 1942–44

New Guinea 1942–44

Fate:

Sold for scrap in 1947

Displacement:         743 tons (standard),

                                1,025 tons (full war load)

Length:                     186 ft (57 m)

Beam:                        31 ft (9.4 m)

Draught:                   8.5 ft (2.6 m)

Propulsion:              triple expansion engine

                                   2 shafts, 1,750 hp

Speed:                       15 knots (28 km/h;

                                   17 mph) at 1,750 hp

Complement:           85

Armament:               1 × 4-inch gun,

                                   3 × Oerlikons,

                                   2 × Lewis 303

                                   2 × Vickers 303

                                   Depth charges chutes

                                   and throwers

GOULBURN 1.jpg

Extract from Corvette magazine 1989

Letter from Jack Morrison ex Goulburn  says ………

“Corvette” awakened many memories of my time in the RAN. During the 18 months I spent in Goulburn I received nothing but kindness and consideration from all the lads, and I needed their help!  When I arrived on board in Singapore my only possessions were the clothes I stood in and a blanket. Uniforms and pay were not the “in”  thing at that time. I wasn’t kitted out until we reached Adelaide.

I bought a pair of shoes in Perth at about 7/6 d. They came with a built-in squeak. As you know the captain’s cabin was under the bridge and this damn squeak so annoyed the Skipper that ordered me not to wear them during the night watches. I had to borrow a pair of shoes for the cold crossing the Bight.

There I go – half a chance and those silly wee memories come flooding out. After all these 46 years, I still have contact with Allan Hopkins and with Norman McGow……………… Say “hello” to the Goulburn lads…………..

Extract Corvette Magazine 1991

HMAS GOULBURN  on 11 December 1941 intercepted and boarded the Japanese fish carrier KOFUKU MARU off Malaya. The boarding party, in a journey in which they were outnumbered 4 to 1 by the Japanese crew, successfully delivered their prize to our forces at Singapore.

KOFUKU MARU, renamed KRAIT, operated by the Services Reconnaissance Department and crewed by RAN, later achieved fame for its audacious and successful raid on Japanese Shipping at Singapore. KRAIT is now preserved at the Maritime Museum maintenance depot in Berrys Bay, Sydney.

bottom of page