Eden - A Working Port

In 1965 as a Midshipman-under-training on board the Battle Class destroyer HMAS ANZAC, steaming from Sydney to Melbourne, we encountered the worst weather I experienced in my five years at sea.

The ship was carrying out-of-date aircraft flares in canisters stacked in the waist of the ship, whilst also carrying a long propeller shaft lashed to the upper deck for delivery to another war ship in Williamstown Dockyard.

The storm had everything – thunder, lightning, gale-force winds, a huge swell and enormous breaking waves which engulfed the ship each time it pitched forward. The waves swept along the upper deck and smashed to pieces one of the ships wooden boats hanging in its davits. It also began to create alarm with the aircraft flares, that they might react to the motion and moisture. It was all hands on deck at 2 am to toss the canisters overboard as a ship ploughed its way south. The lashings on the propeller shaft began to loosen creating further potential disastrous consequences which could affect the ship's stability.

The next morning with the storm behind us we limped into Twofold Bay to assess the damage and undertake temporary repairs. After the savagery of the previous night, the sight of Twofold Bay was like entering Shangri-La and I wondered what life would be like living in that region.

Fast forward 45 years and I found myself living in Merimbula only 20 minutes away from Eden and Twofold Bay. Today the port is a hive of activity with fishing, yachting, research, naval and cruise ship visits on a regular basis.

My painting (A2 in an A1 frame, $600) salutes Eden as a working port.