Island vessels commandeered

Ted Walton, a young boy living at Rhyll during the war years worked on the ferries that plied Westernport during that time.
He remembered that the US and Australian authorities were after all the small boats they could get . . . and that as a 13-year-old he was a member of the crew that took “The Hollydene” owned by Mr Kennon to Cerberus for the authorities to inspect for this purpose.
The Hollydene was a 44-foot passenger boat, licensed to hold 71, but which often took 100 . . . which was put into service each year when the larger ferries had to go into dock at Williamstown annually.
The US navy fancied her but Mr Kennon certainly did not want to see her go, and the only thing that saved her in the end recalled Ted, was the fact that she was involved in the mail run.
The “Hilda Norling” one of a fleet owned by Rhyll crayfisherman, John Norling, was not so lucky.
The fully-rigged commercial ketch, the last to be built in Australia, was his pride and joy and built to his own specifications just 12 months earlier.
She was commandeered by the US army and sailed to new Guinea . . . and although the ketch survived the war, it was blown up immediately after with a cargo of petrol aboard.
“The US were after small boats for use in the islands as supply and troop carriers, as they were easier to manoeuvre into shallow waters,” recalls Ted.
“The owners didn’t have a say in the matter because it was war time.”
Ted believed John Norling actually worked for the navy for a time, taking boats up to New Guinea.

Some hairy crossings, dodging shells

Ted worked as a fireman on board a ferry, The Reliance, which served in local waters between 1943 and 1945, after the Killara was decommissioned in 1942, and also on The Hollydene.
The Reliance was 100 years old and carried 300 passengers.
Ted remembers some hairy crossings on board the old ferry as the gunners at Cerberus never stopped practice as the vessel made its daily approach.
“Shells would be whizzing 15 to 20 foot above the water across the bow on our approach, and then across the stern as we progressed,” he remembers.
The crew remained unperturbed by this regular occurrence, but the passengers were not so sure.
There was one heavy gun at the base which when used broke windows in the area, he recalls.
Ted also remembers that every beacon lining the entrance into the naval base had been shot to bits.
He was never quite sure whether this was intentional or otherwise.
The entrance channel to the base was intricate and full of S bends, he recalls.
The design was such that it would have been impossible for enemy vessels to pentrate the area.
Ted only saw one supply ship ever enter the approach, and is amazed that it navigated the causeway.
One memorable passenger he brought across to Cowes in the war years was the Duke of Kent.
The red carpet was rolled out at Stony Point and the Duke dined at the Erewhon before visiting the penguin parade. 
Ted Walton died in 2003.