The Last Ship

The Last Ship

John Tognolini ventures onto the high seas for the third in a series of radio features about working life in Australia.

After painting vivid aural portraits of volunteer firefighters and scaffolder/riggers, "Togs" returns to his former workplace, the Cockatoo Island dockyard in Sydney Harbour.

It was at Cockatoo that the last big ship was built in Sydney — the navy supply ship HMAS Success. Cockatoo Island has a history stretching from the days of convict labour to the intense industrial disputes over its closure by the Hawke Labor government in the late 1980s.

Contrasting stories of the lives of workers at Cockatoo with moments from the working life of the Success as it steams from Hobart to Sydney, Togs narrates a social history that was once a staple of Australia's port cities.

But don't expect a completely sombre account of shipbuilding or life aboard a navy ship. Togs uncovers plenty of funny stories, some great characters and one especially terrifying encounter with sea-sickness.

The Last Ship will be broadcast on ABC National's Radio-Eye program on Sunday, June 28, at 8.20pm. It will be repeated on Saturday, July 25, at 3.30pm. The Last Ship is produced by John Tognolini and Brent Clough.

From GLW issue 321