HMAS Arunta II docks in Geraldton to give sailors respite and prospective candidates a look at real navy life

An impressive warship docked in Geraldton harbour over the weekend, giving sailors a chance to rest and relax and prospective Australian Defence Force candidates a look at what life on a navy vessel is really like. With 200 personnel and a helicopter on board, the 30-year-old HMAS Arunta II is involved in various missions such as air defence, surface warfare, anti-submarine operations, and border protection and is currently part of a significant anti-submarine exercise, the biggest in the last decade. Docked in Geraldton from Friday to Tuesday, the crew enjoyed some respite and all the sites that Geraldton has to offer. There were hosted tours for a small group of Year 10-12 students and navy cadets to explore the vessel further and catch a glimpse of what life with the ADF is like. Cdr David Clarkson, said his crew was thrilled to dock in Geraldton and grab some downtime after a long time at sea. “Running a ship at sea is a 24/7 thing, so there are times where we need a down period,” he said. “But it also gives us a chance to engage with people in Geraldton, and definitely my crew were very excited to come here because there are not a lot who have been here before.” Cdr Clarkson said it was great to have the ship in Geraldton, providing tours to ADF career prospects to offer a realistic view of naval life, which often encourages recruitment. “While we’re here we’re giving tours to ADF Careers, giving a lot of prospective candidates a look at what a real ship looks and feels like, and a chance to speak to people who actually do the jobs that they’re thinking of doing,” he said. “We do find people who have had this experience are a lot more likely to join after they’ve seen it, because all they have is a frame of reference to movies and it isn’t all marching around screaming at each other and getting yelled at, it’s a very different life. “In fact, it’s quite normal. And so for them to see that and speak to people and find out that everyone comes from somewhere, and everyone has a history to them, it’s actually quite a diverse group of 200 people, and they all do very different things.” The HMAS Arunta II is the second of eight Anzac Class frigates, smaller and faster than a destroyer, capable of air defence, surface and undersea warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and interception. The ship’s personnel said bon voyage to Geraldton on Tuesday, but will be sticking around off the WA coast for the next few weeks.