Royal Australian Navy: Reports of Proceedings
Off Sydney, NSW. 20 October 1939. Port quarter view of the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia II as she appeared after her 1938–39 refit. C22780
“Reports of Proceedings”, known earlier as “Letters of Proceedings”, are summaries of a ship’s or shore base’s activities. The reports were submitted by commanding officers to the Chief of Naval Staff.
In the case of a ship, they were submitted on a monthly basis; a shore base submitted them quarterly. Minor vessels may have their activities covered by the reports of the shore bases to which they were subordinated.
The reports may include such information as the operations and port visits of the ship, its participation in exercises, foreign vessels met, the arrival and departure of the ship’s officers, the condition of the ship, the morale and health of the crew, speed trials, fuel consumption, and distances steamed.
Most Reports of Proceedings produced since 1939 are held in the Official Records series AWM78, located at the Australian War Memorial. Some Letters of Proceedings from the First World War are held in AWM36 and AWM45. Other Reports/Letters of Proceedings, mostly for the First World War and inter-war years, are held by National Archives of Australia.
Further Information
- AWM78 - Reports of Proceedings, HMA ships and establishments
- To identify particular records, see the National Archives of Australia database RecordSearch