Iam delighted to provide the foreord to this collection of essays. It marks the maturing of a joint initiative of the Royal Australian Navy and the School of History of the University of the New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy to remedy the lack of naval
Australia is and always has been a maritime nation. From the earliest days of European settlement, the people of Australia have looked to the sea for their security. Protection was first provided under the umbrella of Imperial Defence and the Royal Navy. Later, as the nation matured, the need was identified to establish a local navy, manned and commanded by Australians.
The essays contained in this book originated at a conference held in Canberra in July 1997 and are now presented in an expanded and enhandced from.
<p>Even in looking to the future, however, we should not forget the lessons of the past. The conclusion of celebrations marking 50 years of Australian naval aviation only daysbefore this workshop, and the conduct of the workshop in the Australian naval Aviation Museum gave edded impetus to consider what had occured to naval aviation in those 50 years.</p>