HMAS Bendigo

Two ships of the Royal Australian Navy have been named HMAS Bendigo, for the city of Bendigo, Victoria.

Battle honours

Ships named HMAS Bendigo have been awarded three battle honours.

References

HMAS Bendigo (J187)

The first HMAS Bendigo (J187/B237/A111) was a Bathurst-class minesweeper, a group commonly known as corvettes and including escort and patrol duties along with minesweeping.

Design and construction

In 1938, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (ACNB) identified the need for a general purpose 'local defence vessel' capable of both anti-submarine and mine-warfare duties, while easy to construct and operate. The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), and a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled Bar-class boom defence vessel saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) top speed, and a range of 2,850 nautical miles (5,280 km; 3,280 mi), armed with a 4-inch gun, equipped with asdic, and able to fitted with either depth charges or minesweeping equipment depending on the planned operations: although closer in size to a sloop than a local defence vessel, the resulting increased capabilities were accepted due to advantages over British-designed mine warfare and anti-submarine vessels. Construction of the prototype HMAS Kangaroo did not go ahead, but the plans were retained. The need for locally built 'all-rounder' vessels at the start of World War II saw the "Australian Minesweepers" (designated as such to hide their anti-submarine capability, but popularly referred to as "corvettes") approved in September 1939, with 60 constructed during the course of the war: 36 (including Bendigo) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.

HMAS Bendigo (FCPB 211)

HMAS Bendigo (FCPB 211) was a Fremantle-class patrol boat serving in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Design and construction

Starting in the late 1960s, planning began for a new class of patrol boat to replace the Attack class, with designs calling for improved seakeeping capability, and updated weapons and equipment. The Fremantles had a full load displacement of 220 tonnes (220 long tons; 240 short tons), were 137.6 feet (41.9 m) long overall, had a beam of 24.25 feet (7.39 m), and a maximum draught of 5.75 feet (1.75 m). Main propulsion machinery consisted of two MTU series 538TB91 V16 diesel engines, which supplied 3,200 shaft horsepower (2,400 kW) to the two propeller shafts. Exhaust was not expelled through a funnel, like most ships, but through vents below the waterline. The patrol boat could reach a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), and had a maximum range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). The ship's company consisted of 22 personnel. Each patrol boat was armed with a single 40 mm Bofors gun as main armament, supplemented by two .50 cal Browning machineguns and an 81-mm mortar, although the mortar was removed from all ships sometime after 1988. The main weapon was originally to be two 30-mm guns on a twin-mount, but the reconditioned Bofors were selected to keep costs down; provision was made to install an updated weapon later in the class' service life, but this did not eventuate.

Bendigo

Bendigo /ˈbɛndᵻɡoʊ/ is a city in Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) north west of the state capital, Melbourne. Bendigo has an urban population of 82,794 making it the fourth largest inland city in Australia and fourth most populous city in the state. It is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Bendigo which encompasses both the urban area and outlying towns spanning an area of approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,158 sq mi) and over 111,000 people.

The discovery of gold in the soils of Bendigo during the 1850s made it one of the most significant Victorian era boomtowns in Australia. News of the finds intensified the Victorian gold rush bringing an influx of migrants to the city from around the world within a year and transforming it from a sheep station to a major settlement in the newly proclaimed Colony of Victoria. Once the alluvial gold had been mined out, mining companies were formed to exploit the rich underground quartz reef gold. Since 1851 about 25 million ounces of gold (777 tonnes) have been extracted from Bendigo's goldmines, making it the highest producing goldfield in Australia in the 19th century and the largest gold mining economy in eastern Australia. It is also notable for its Victorian architectural heritage. The city took its name from the Bendigo Creek and its residents from the earliest days of the goldrush have been called "Bendigonians".

Bendigo (horse)

Bendigo (foaled 1880) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned by H. T. Barclay and trained by C. Jousiffe. He won the first running of the Eclipse Stakes, the most valuable race in Britain. He also won the Champion Stakes and was noted for his performances in the top handicap races.

Breeding

Bendigo was sired by Irish Derby winner Ben Battle. Ben Battle was a son of Doncaster Cup winner Rataplan. Bendigo's dam was Hasty Girl, a daughter of Lord Gough. Hasty Girl also foaled 1887 St. Leger Stakes winner Kilwarlin.

Racing career

1883: Three-year-old season

Bendigo did not run as a two-year-old. On 9 October 1883 he ran in the Cesarewitch Stakes at the Newmarket Houghton meeting. Carrying 6 st 7 lb he started a 40/1 outsider in the field of 22. He finished in about sixth place, behind winner Don Juan. Two weeks later he ran in the Cambridgeshire Stakes. He again started as an outsider, this time starting at 50/1. Carrying 6 st 10 lb he won the race by a neck from Tonans, with Medicus a further three lengths back in third place. Bendigo had drifted left so badly that many people did not see him at the finish.

Bendigo (disambiguation)

Bendigo is a city in Victoria, Australia.

Bendigo may also refer to:

Places

Other uses

See also