On 8 May 2014, the staff at Australian Navy Headquarters South Queensland (NHQ-SQ) celebrated the 20th year of representing Navy locally and providing administrative support to all Permanent and Reserve personnel posted to South East Queensland. The occasion was celebrated with a staff morning tea and traditional cake cutting ceremony.
Chief Petty Officer Naval Police Coxswain Tony Mayes and Australian Public Servant employee Ms Liz Grimes have both worked at NHQ-SQ for the past 20 years and have certainly seen some changes over their time, but both a agree that NHQ has always been a great place to work.
Chief Petty Officer Mayes said “the decommissioning of HMAS Moreton in 1994 certainly had an impact on maintaining a visible presence in Brisbane, but overall I think we have still done a good job in flying the flag up north.”
Ms Liz Grimes, who works in the Registry, said “with 170 Permanent Navy and 665 Active Reservists posted to South East Queensland, I’m certainly kept busy keeping our records up-to-date and in order.”
Although the morning tea was a small gathering, the occasion was symbolic as it represented a major milestone in the Navy maintaining its presence in South East Queensland.
[mappress] Press Release, May 12, 2014; Image: Australian Navy