Roy Stall came along to do some naval gazing, and he entertained us with a fascinating comparison between the Royal Australian Navy of yesteryear and that of today. Roy spent a number of years in the Navy and is able to describe things from first-hand experience. Our Navy used to be totally based on the British tradition both in terms of titles, descriptions, and uniforms; for example, people who are now called sailors or seamen used to be referred to as ratings. Our uniforms used to be all blue, and the previous Ensign was the British White Ensign – including the St George flag – which prevailed from 1911 until 1967. Nowadays we have the Australian White Ensign which features the Southern Cross and the Commonwealth Star in place of the St George Cross. These days the uniforms are DPCU or Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniforms. Roy then turned our attention to the various vessels that have been used over the years, and he described conditions on the frigate HMAS Diamantina which was first commissioned in 1945, and after a spell in reserve, it became a survey ship from 1959 until 1980. In the previous era attitudes and practices were very relaxed, but now Occupational Health and Safety protocols have imposed political correctness all round. Roy’s description of our submarines was particularly interesting, starting with the purchase of 2 British E Class vessels in 1914. Later Oberon Class submarines were commissioned in the 1960s and in 1996 we changed to Collins Class vessels. These six subs are based at Garden Island near Perth. In future the AUKUS agreement will see us obtaining several nuclear fast attack subs. The huge changes over the years are most impressive.