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Original Admiralty House plaque presented to Royal Australian Navy

A plaque that once hung in Sydney's Admiralty House was presented to Australia's Chief of Navy during the International Fleet Review.

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Admiralty House plaque

Sir George Zambellas (left) and Jonathan Perceval-Maxwell (centre) present the ‘Admiral’s Office Australia’ plaque to Vice Admiral Ray Griggs (right).

At a special reception on board HMS Daring, The Head of the Royal Navy, The First Sea Lord Admiral Sir George Zambellas and Jonathan Perceval-Maxwell, the great grandson of Admiral Sir George King-Hall, presented an historic plaque that once hung in Sydney’s Admiralty House to Australia’s Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs.

The plaque was affixed to Admiralty House during Britain’s command at the Australia Station and spent a century in the UK after Admiral Sir George King-Hall, the last British Commander-in-Chief of the Australia Station in 1913, returned with it to England when the Royal Navy departed Australia.

At the request of Sir George King-Hall’s family, it was returned to Australia and presented to the Royal Australian Navy during the International Fleet Review commemorations.

The plaque is carved from a single block of wood with the inscription ‘Admiral’s Office Australia’.

Published 9 October 2013