This note has seen better days but it still stands as a reasonable example.
Structurally speaking it is not to bad with no tears and straight edges.
It has soiling and quite a few folds and crinkles.
A good collection filler at a reasonable price.
Design
Obverse: Captain Matthew Flinders RN (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been known as New Holland. He survived shipwreck and disaster only to be imprisoned for violating the terms of his scientific passport by changing ships and carrying prohibited papers. He identified and corrected the effect upon compass readings of iron components and equipment on board wooden ships and he wrote what may be the first work on early Australian exploration A Voyage to Terra Australis.
Reverse: Parliament House – After World War I the Federal Capital Advisory Committee was established to prepare Canberra to be the seat of government, including the construction of a Parliament House. The committee decided that it would be best to erect a “provisional” building, to serve for a predicted 50 years until a new, “permanent” House could be built. In the event, Old Parliament House was Parliament’s home for 61 years. It was officially opened in 1927.
Watermark: Captain Cook in left hand oval . The word ’Half’ also sits behind each of the signatories.
History
HMAS Flinders, was named for Matthew Flinders (1774-1814)and was a hydrographic survey ship of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The ship was ordered in 1970 to replace the light survey vessel HMAS Paluma. Flinders was 161 feet (49 m) in length overall, with a beam of 33 feet (10 m), a draught of 12 feet (3.7 m), and a full load displacement of 740 tons. Propulsion was provided by two Paxman Ventura diesel motors connected to twin screws, providing a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) and a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph). The hull was all-welded, and designed to Australian Shipping Board standards for coastal operations.[3] Increased seakeeping ability was imparted through a bulbous bow, high forecastle, and a stabilising system.[2] Most operations were intended to be in the waters of Australia and Papua New Guinea, although Flinders was also capable of limited oceanographic work. The ship’s company consisted of 38 personnel, and Flinders carried light-calibre weapons for self-defence.
Following the destruction of Darwin by Cyclone Tracy during the night of 24-25 December 1974, Flinders was deployed as part of the relief effort; Operation Navy Help Darwin. She sailed from Cairns on 26 December, and as the first ship to arrive, Flinders was tasked with surveying the harbour to work out the position of wrecks and the safest areas for the other RAN ships to anchor.
Flinders was decommissioned in 1998. In October 1999, the ship was sold at auction for A$518,460 to a New Zealand consortium. She was remodelled into a private yacht, and now operates at MY Plan B, registered in the Cayman Islands.
*All biographical details are taken from Wikipedia for education purposes only.