26. HMAS Silver Cloud

Over a number of years, Halvorsens constructed three Silver Clouds, for Jack Bruce, cousin of Stanley M Bruce, former Prime Minister and later Australia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. (423)

In 1933, Bruce traded his former motor cruiser, Lurnea for a new 40 foot Halvorsen cruiser which he named Silver Cloud. (Halvorsens subsequently resold the Lurnea to a Mr J Hall.) Three years later, Bruce traded his first Silver Cloud for a new ‘Halvorsen Fifty’ (refers to a length of 50 feet (15.25m)) which he named Silver Cloud II. (Halvorsens resold Bruce’s first Silver Cloud to Commodore W D Lawson. Lawson renamed her Sylph.) Subsequently, Bruce, sold his second Silver Cloud, and placed his order with Halvorsens for a new 65 footer which he would name Silver Cloud III. (424) With the three orders, the editor of The International and Power Boat and Aquatic Monthly believed that Harold Halvorsen could claim a record for having constructed all three Silver Clouds for one owner – Jack Bruce.

The construction of Silver Cloud III, which was to become HMAS Silver Cloud, commenced in mid 1938. She was launched in 1939, however the exact date of the launching is unknown. In November 1938 she was said to be worth £5,000 and to be the largest cruiser to have been built by Halvorsens in eight years. (425) By late February 1939, she had been launched and was designated the flagship of the NSW Volunteer Coastal Patrol, visiting and conducting patrol exercises off Wollongong over the weekend of 25 February 1939.

At 65 feet (19.81m), she was one of the larger vessels in the Hollywood Fleet. Her keel and frames were of Spotted Gum, planking was of Oregon and her superstructure and interior woodwork were of Queensland maple. She was powered by two six-cylinder Buda marine engines. She included; a two berth cabin aft with adjacent toilet, a two berth cabin to port and another to starboard, crews cabin forward, galley with an Electrolux gas refrigerator and a Blue ray gas stove, bathroom with bath, a dining saloon which included a wireless set and built-in writing desk. A deck saloon with steering and engine control station was also included. (427)

On 17 April 1939, the new Silver Cloud III left the Halvorsen’s Neutral Bay yard for an extended cruise to the Barrier Reef. (428) She had been chartered by a wealthy American who was on his Honeymoon tour. After what was described as a ‘terrifically rough trip’ to Brisbane, she was taken over by the Putnams at Gladstone with the intention of conducting big game fishing.

One of the crew on the voyage to Brisbane claimed the seas encountered were ‘mountainous’ and the weather on the night of 18 April was the ‘worst in his experience’. Silver Cloud III came through the gale with ‘flying colours’ having suffered a little superficial damage by the exceptionally heavy sea. The gale delayed all coastal shipping.

The Naval Board ordered the requisition of Silver Cloud on 30 May 1941. (430) Bruce acknowledged the requisition order by return letter on letterhead of the Commonwealth Film Laboratories Pty Ltd. He advised the Naval Board that he would deliver her to Garden Island as he had been directed. However, he took the opportunity to advise the Board there had been no intimation as to compensation although he believed she would be chartered by the Navy. Believing the vessel would require substantial structural alterations he said it ‘seems hardly possible’ it could ever be returned to him in the same condition and on that basis, he believed the vessel should be purchased. Bruce’s valuation was £5,100. In a follow up letter to Muirhead-Gould, he repeated Silver Cloud had been built primarily as a pleasure craft and could hardly be classified as a tug-boat or trawler and again sought outright purchase. She was surveyed for the Navy by a Lloyd’s surveyor who valued her at a mere £4,000.

Silver Cloud was formally ‘taken over’ on 23 June 1941, and by the end of June, Bruce was advised by the Director of Engineering (Naval), that his views had been noted, and the terms of compensation were ‘under consideration’. She was commissioned into the Navy on 21 July 1941 under the command of Lieutenant R E Breydon, RANR. (431) Breydon was also appointed commander of the fleet of Channel Patrol Boats that made up the Hollywood Fleet. Breydon was to continue in command of Silver Cloud and the Hollywood Fleet to 7 June 1942. (432)

She was armed with one .303 Vickers machine gun mounted aft, however the ‘Ship Index Cards’ (433) record she was fitted with a second, presumably with the second mounted on the fore deck, with depth charges on the stern.

Having heard nothing regarding compensation, Bruce wrote again on 8 October 1941, reiterating his previous queries and putting forward an offer to sell the vessel for £5,100. He advised he had obtained an independent certificate of valuation of £5,500 which he could produce if required. The response was the same as before, indicating that purchase or hire was ‘under consideration’. The Director of Engineering (Naval) recommended purchase for £4,000.

In November 1941, Muirhead-Gould recommended she be allocated to Port Moresby with Seamist. The Naval Board agreed and directed that both vessels be ‘metal sheathed’ for protection in the tropical waters. Muirhead-Gould advised the Board both vessels were suitable for ASDIC.

With no response from the Navy, Bruce engaged solicitors who wrote to the Naval Board in December. His solicitor, Mr Manion, claimed their client was not receiving the ‘reasonable consideration that might have been expected’ and that Bruce could not ‘allow the present position to remain in abeyance any longer’. The solicitor advised the Naval Board that their officer had omitted to comply with the regulations to notify Bruce of the amount of compensation at the time of requisition so he could take the ‘necessary steps to safeguard his rights’. It was suggested the matter be promptly remedied given the Board’s attention had been drawn to the ‘injustice under which our Client has unduly been suffering’. At the time, neither Bruce nor his solicitors would have known the matter of compensation was to continue for another two years.

In mid-December 1941, the Board agreed with a further recommendation from Muirhead-Gould that Esmeralda should be allocated to Port Moresby in lieu of Silver Cloud, due to her better ventilation and long range. The same month, without finalizing the charter or purchase arrangements, the Board agreed Bruce would be paid a rate for charter to be determined by a Naval Charter Rates Board set up under the National Security Regulations.

A meeting was held on 30 December 1941 with Bruce, Mannion, the Business Member of the Naval Board and Mr Tennant representing the Commonwealth. Manion advised Bruce had revised his valuation to £5,500 plus special damages of £500 for compensation for depriving him of his place of residence. Bruce reiterated he had only been in possession of the vessel for 14 months prior to its requisition. Tennant put that a depreciation rate of 12½% for the first year and 10% for the following years would apply to a ‘non-utilitarian’ vessel. The submission was strongly opposed by Manion who claimed the vessel had been extremely well looked after as Bruce had always been in residence, and it had been on the slips regularly every two to three months. Manion asked the Commonwealth to make an offer. In response, the Commonwealth informed Manion and Bruce, that the difference between the parties was so wide ‘it would be of no value to name a figure’. The ‘interview’ closed on a ‘note of dissatisfaction sounded by Manion that no figure was put by the Commonwealth’.

A week later, Bruce was served with an ‘Impressment Order’ which contained a value of £4,000 - for the Navy to take his loved Silver Cloud and his home. The following week, Manion responded to the Naval Board with a formal notice requiring the value to be determined by a Compensation Board. In a covering letter, Manion included, ‘In these times our Client, indeed, most reputable people, do not look for or expect anything in the shape of profit by reason of the deprivation of property but they are of the opinion, as the Commonwealth has rightly determined, that the method of the assessment of compensation is as fixed by the Statute, namely, the market value of the subject vessel as at the date of requisition.’

The Commonwealth responded advising ‘there is some doubt as to whether this notification was lodged within the prescribed period’.

Manion’s response was swift including, ‘… we propose seeing that representations are made through the proper channels to acquaint the Minister in charge with what is apparently taking place in your department, namely, an attitude utterly unfair and one which we have no doubt is entirely foreign to the intentions of the Government in regard to the treatment of people whose property the naval authorities have seen fit to appropriate’. Manion acknowledged that neither he nor Bruce questioned the Navy’s need for the vessel which quite properly required its requisition. Among other matters, Manion confirmed that Bruce, since the outbreak of the war, had been a member of the Voluntary Coastal Patrol which, and in association with the NSW Police, carried out patrol work and gave up the use of his vessel without any monetary payment whatever, and that Bruce was providing voluntary services as a member of the Films Advisory Committee to the Department of Information. Bruce clearly believed his contribution to the war effort had already been substantial.

The Commonwealth advised that ‘Bruce’s Notification’ was not received in the proper time and his right to have the amount of compensation assessed by a Compensation Board had therefore lapsed. Manion did not respond immediately and the Commonwealth put the matter of ‘finalizing the purchase’ in the hands of the Deputy Crown Solicitor. The letter was copied to Muirhead-Gould.

When Manion wrote again to the Naval Board, he included two valuations obtained by Bruce for the sums of £5,400 and £5,500. Manion also referred to ‘the particular Official who has been responsible for endeavouring to take the advantage of Mr Bruce’ and again referred to Bruce’s contribution and services to the ‘Military authorities who apparently have been pleased to accept the same … which we have no doubt will be of considerably more use to his Country than that of the Official who has been dealing with his claim’. He concluded ‘It is not too late for the decent thing still to be done’.

The Crown Solicitor considered the matter and in a pointed letter, informed the Naval Board on 6 May 1942, that the Notice issued by the Navy to Bruce was not a ‘proper notice’ with regard to permanently acquiring the vessel. The Crown Solicitor confirmed it was not possible for the Navy’s Purchasing Officer to assess the fair market value for the purpose of the ‘Impressment Order’, and the valuation of £4,000 was no more than an offer to purchase at that amount. The Crown Solicitor confirmed he had communicated with Manion who maintained the proper value was £5,500 and that Bruce had recently seen the vessel ‘in such a state and condition, that in his considered opinion, it would be practically impossible to restore it to the state and condition in which it was when taken over by the Department’.

Muirhead-Gould however, had already relied on the force of the invalid ‘Impressment Order’ and had drawn an advance of £4,000 which had been forwarded to the Crown Solicitor for the ‘final’ payment to Bruce. The Crown Solicitor returned the payment and informed the Naval Board that if any further action was required, they should instruct him accordingly. The matter of the requisition was firmly back in the hands of the Navy.

Whilst the RAN Sea Power Centre histories record her being employed on patrol duties of the swept channels to seaward of Sydney, and on patrol duties on the NSW coast, there is no record in the Sydney Log of Silver Cloud leaving Sydney after the Battle of Sydney Harbour. In 1978 when discussing the Battle of Sydney Harbour, Reg Andrew said Silver Cloud rarely ‘ever’ went on patrol as she was for ‘base duties and VIP cruisers’. (435)

By the Battle of Sydney Harbour, the Navy had yet to complete the requisition of Silver Cloud. On 25 July 1942, a new ‘Impressment Order’ was issued requisitioning the vessel permanently. The Order included the Navy’s value of just £4,000. Bruce’s solicitor, Mr Manion, responded with a formal notice requiring the value to be determined by a Compensation Board. In his covering letter, he asked for details of the compensation the Navy would pay for the use of the vessel from the date of initial requisition to the date of the permanent requisition, especially as the Navy had ‘considerably knocked’ her about. Two days later on 17 August 1942, Manion wrote again to the Board requiring satisfactory information otherwise Bruce would be advised to ‘exercise his legal remedies’ forthwith.

By the end of the month, the Secretary of the Naval Board confirmed the compensation would be assessed by a Compensation Board.

In November, the Naval Board advised Bruce he would receive payment of £694 for the hire of Silver Cloud from the date she was ‘taken’ to the time of the Navy’s permanent requisition. Bruce was advised, the payment would reach him within a few days. As could be expected, Manion responded that until the matter of Burce’s claim for compensation in respect of the ‘deprivation of the subject vessel’ had been determined, Bruce and Manion would refrain from making any comment as to the charter rate imposed by the Navy.

The matter dragged on, and on 28 April 1943, wearied by the delay, Bruce instructed Manion to put an offer of £5,000 to settle the claim, subject to acceptance within fourteen days. The Naval Board did not accept the offer. The Navy proposed a settlement sum of £3,500 (in addition to the earlier charter payment). On 12 May, Manion accepted the Board’s offer of £3,500, ‘without prejudice’ to Bruce’s claims ‘as stated’, and requested ‘the promised cheque immediately’. On 20 May the Board acknowledged a cheque for £3,500 for ‘progress payment on account’ would be received within a few days.

Six weeks later, Silver Cloud was devastated by fire. On 12 July 1943 at 0815 (8.15 am), she was moored to a buoy in Hunters Bay off Balmoral Beach. The commander at the time, Lieutenant Gasking had just come aboard and ordered a flag to be raised directing the Fleet to prepare to slip their moorings in sequence of their Fleet numbers. He ordered her engines to be started to ‘Warm through motors’ which was passed by the Coxswain to the wheel-house. He heard the starboard engine start followed by a cry of ‘Fire in the engine room’.

Fire stations were immediately ordered. Gasking proceeded into the wheel-house and from there to the engine room where he heard the mechanic cry, ‘look out for the gas’ and immediately caught the mechanic who was falling backward, having been overcome by the fumes. Griffin said he observed the port motor was burning and ‘rushed’ the mechanic to the top of the ladder and ordered him on deck into fresh air. Gasking ordered ‘gas masks on’, and returned to the engine room with his gas mask on. But the smoke was extremely dense with what he believed to be ‘deadly gas’. His mask immediately choked him as he made a ‘great endeavor’ to get into the engine room but failed to do so, and found himself collapsing at the top of the ladder as he managed to drag himself out of the mess deck. The mess deck by that time, was filled with dense with smoke. He ordered ‘Stand by depth charges’, ‘Stand by to release depth charges’.

All hands including the coxswain assisted to see all depth charge pistols were set to safe and primers withdrawn, where upon the depth charges were released overboard. Gasking held the view, they were the ‘main menace to Balmoral and everywhere else’ if they were to explode. All of the depth charges were subsequently recovered by divers.

Having sufficiently recovered, the motor mechanic was ordered to shut off the petrol which he eventually achieved by the cocks at the aft tanks.

By his written statement, Gasking advised that during the first few minutes, the vessel was slipped from the buoy and every aperture into the engine room was sealed in an effort to contain the spread of fire. Steady Hour was ordered to tow her clear of the buoy at which time the diving boat Otter, arrived from HMAS Penguin with the intention of beaching her. But Gasking realised a ‘Fire Party’ was proceeding to the jetty at Penguin and order she be towed to the wharf. At the wharf she was attended by two fire brigade engines and crews and naval personnel, who extinguished the fire at 1020 (10.20 am). By that time, Silver Cloud was well down by the bow, having approximately two-thirds of her displacement of water pumped into her.

The fire brigade pumped water out of her and all salvageable stores were removed. By midday she had regained normal stability and Gasking was ordered to have her towed to Garden Island for examination.

Two of the crew were admitted to sick bay suffering from the effects of the gas. Two days after the fire, the commanding officer of Penguin issued the results of a survey of the hulk, ‘the hull has been so extensively damaged as to be beyond repair’ and, ‘the planking, timbers and stringers from the water line to the upper deck, from the forward bulkhead of the crew’s quarters to the after end of the engine room, about two thirds the length of the ship, has been destroyed’.

A Board of Inquiry was established which met on 16 July 1943 at the naval base of HMAS Kuttabul. Again, the members were formed by senior staff of the local Sydney command. As with the Board of Inquiry for the loss of Nereus, there were no investigation reports from experts and no fire experts were questioned. Three days later, the Board presented their report to Muirhead-Gould, still commander in charge of Sydney. During the examination, the Board questioned an officer of the NSW Fire Brigade who had attended and assisted to extinguish the fire. The Board asked if the Naval service respirators were effective against the gas produced by the carbon tetrachloride based extinguishers. The response was shocking, ‘not effective against the gas that is produced when carbon tetrachloride vaporizes. It is approximately five times heavier than the atmosphere. The Service type of respirator needs oxygen, and there is no oxygen in the atmosphere in these circumstances. You need some apparatus where the man has his own supply of oxygen’. He was asked ‘It is not protection because there is a lack of oxygen’ to which he responded ‘Yes Sir – owing to the heavy gravity of the carbon tetrachloride’. The Board failed to enquire why the Navy was using fire extinguishers that were incompatible with the supplied gas masks?

On 10 August 1943, Muirhead-Gould issued an updated ‘Confidential Memorandum’ titled ‘Prevention of Fire in Small Vessels’ but did not include commanding officers of small vessels on his distribution list. The Board found the fire was caused by the ‘flooding’ of the carburetor on the port engine and subsequent ignition of the escaping petrol by a ‘blow back’ through the carburetor owing to an inlet valve sticking up. The resulting small fire led to the melting of the die metal casting of the petrol pump which thus left an open ended petrol pipe through which petrol streamed by gravity from the aft petrol tanks. Had the petrol been isolated, the spread of the fire would have been prevented.

Muirhead-Gould reviewed the Board’s findings and reported to the Naval Board that ‘arrangements are now being made to fit a CO2 fire extinguishing system in CPB’s’ and he recommended that breathing apparatus with 40 feet (12.2m) of hose be supplied to the CPB’s. There is no evidence the matter was actioned.

On considering Muirhead-Gould’s report, the Naval Board found that Lieutenant Gasking, was considered blameworthy for not ensuring a person was in the engine room at the time the engines were started, did not shut off the petrol valves when he had an opportunity to do so and did not ensure the valves were shut off as soon as possible after the outbreak of fire. The Naval Board directed Gasking be informed accordingly.

Silver Cloud had been severely damaged but not completely destroyed. The planking, timbers and stringers for two-thirds of her length and from the water line to the upper deck, were burnt beyond repair. (437)

But, despite the devastation from the fire, Silver Cloud had not reached the end of its life. By mid-August 1943, plans had been prepared to convert the remaining hulk into a ‘Store Vessel’, complete with a new engine room with twin 50hp diesel engines, 10 ton cargo hold in the aft section of the vessel complete with 10 ton derrick, and with a new wheel house and captain’s cabin.

A month later, Muirhead-Gould submitted a report to the Naval Board including a proposed cost of £5,700 for the work which he said could not be completed in less than four months, subject to the delivery of machinery. But Muirhead-Gould was of the opinion, that a ‘complete new boat with the same power and of more suitable form could be built for £200 to £300 over the cost of reconditioning’. Therefore, he said, it would appear desirable that Silver Cloud be offered for sale through the Contract Board.

However, the Director of Engineering (Naval) raised potential difficulties with such a course as the purchase of Silver Cloud was still in dispute. Despite being requisitioned over two years earlier, the Navy and Bruce had still not settled the agreed purchase of the vessel. And in any event, who was the owner? (438) The Naval Board were of the view, that as Bruce had already accepted a ‘progress payment’ of £3,500, and given Silver Cloud had been ‘permanently’ requisitioned, the Commonwealth was the owner of the remaining hulk and could deal with the hulk as it wished. The Navy Board approved the sale, but the price to be paid to Bruce, still needed to be settled.

By October 1943, a Compensation Board had finally been established, and lawyers acting for Bruce had lodged papers for his claim for compensation on just terms. At the time, Bruce was one of eleven owners including Harold Christmas for Toomeree, seeking a favourable determination from the Board.

Prior to the matter being heard by the Compensation Board in January 1944, Bruce through his solicitors finally reached agreement with the Navy for settlement of the purchase. The agreed total sum to paid was £4,500 including interest, with the earlier progress payment to be deducted which would yield a final payment of £1,000. Not only had Bruce received a reduced value for his Silver Cloud, he had lost the use of his vessel for over 2½ years, and had lost the pleasure of using her as his home. And she had been destroyed. On 2 March 1944, Muirhead-Gould reported to the Secretary of the Naval Board the final payment had been made. (440)

A week later, authorization was received for the remaining hull of Silver Cloud to be sold through the Contract Board (441) and to transfer the original ‘Buda’ engines to ‘Army Salvage’. By September 1944, the hull of Silver Cloud had been purchased by Lars Halvorsen Sons Pty Ltd for the sum of £510. (442)

Despite the Contract Board having disposed of the damaged engines, Halvorsens managed to find them and have them reconditioned. Halvorsens then set about the task of re-building Silver Cloud. During the rebuilding, Trygve Halvorsen left a portion of the burnt timber below her deck as a lasting ‘salute’ to her ‘wartime efforts’.

Following the reconstruction, she was sold to Stan Oldfield (443) who then sold her the following year to Norman Hannan who moored her back at the Royal Motor Yacht Club at Rose Bay. Author Tony MacKay says she was maintained by her fastidious owner which ‘placed her back in the forefront of prestige boating’.

In the 1950s, she was purchased by Bob Ibbotson for £10,000 after which she became the flagship of the St George Motor Boat Club. Ibbotson registered Silver Cloud in the Port of Sydney section of the Register of British Ships on 31 March 1971. (444)

In 1974, (445) Silver Cloud was acquired by the Hon Dr Derek Freeman, then a Member of the NSW Legislative Council and was used by the family for excursions up and down the coast. MacKay describes her as being viewed with ‘reverence’ with ‘sleek lines and charismatic appearance’ which he said added an air of mystery to ‘her charm’. During his ownership, Freeman made a number of alterations adding a ‘flying bridge’ and her original Buda engines were replaced with twin MWM diesels.

Freeman sold Silver Cloud in 1994 to Gary Rothwell. The following year, further refit work was undertaken and her MWM diesels were replaced with Cummins six-cylinder diesel engines. She starred in the 2004 movie ‘The Mystery of Natalie Wood’ as the yacht Splendour, from which Robert Wagner’s wife fell overboard and drowned in 1981.

Silver Cloud was sold again in 2005 to Robert and Lee Hunter. She was sailed to Port Macquarie where she was completely overhauled and restored between 2007 and 2010 before being displayed at the Australian National Maritime Museum for her ‘re-launching’ by Rear-Admiral Peter Sinclair on 19 March 2010.

430 NAA: MP138/1, 603/246/3100 – Motor yacht Silver Cloud. This NAA Record includes the further details of requisition and purchase.

432 NAA: SP338/1, 201/37 – (Japanese) Midget Submarine Attack on Sydney Harbour, May 31st June 1st 1942, p.1 and 2

435 Carruthers Collection, RAN Sea Power Centre - Australia. Letter from Reg Andrew dated 23 June 1978

436 Copies of this photo are held by the Sydney Harbour Fleet and the Sydney City Council Archives. Both are attributed to the Graeme Andrews Collection with the photographer cited as N Byrne. At the time Silver Cloud was destroyed, Byne was attached to HMAS Leewin in Western Australia. He could not have been the photographer. It is understood, this and similar photographs of the CPB’s and midget submarines in the Andrews Collection, most probably originated from the Naval Historical Collection, some of which form the photographic collection at the Australian War Memorial.

440 Despite reports in later publications, Silver Cloud was not ‘awaiting return to Jack Bruce’ at the time she was gutted by fire. See ANMM magazine, Signals No. 90, 2010, p.18

443 This recent history is based on Tony MacKay’s article in ANMM, Signals No. 90, 2010, p.16

444 Register of British Ships, Microfilm C2/16 held by ANMM, registration No. 343646, 14 in 1971

445 According to the Registration, Silver Cloud was acquired by Freeman on 26 February 1976