Nigel Baird-Orr sent me this info.
Thanks Nige, if you have a pic of the Stalwart on the beach, please e-mail it to me so I can upload it into this post.

On 3 May 1990, in a ceremony held onboard, the ex-HMAS STALWART was handed over to her new owners, Sea Royal Ferries of Nicosia, at a sale price of $A5.25 million. In a first for the RAN, STALWART was sold in a fully operational "as is, where is" condition, with the proceeds of the sale being returned to the Navy for future use. STALWART, now renamed Her Majesty M, was used by her new owners, mainly in Mediterranean waters.

On 19 February 2003 a ship named TARA II (formerly Her Majesty M) arrived at the shipbreakers at Alang in India. This last voyage ended the life of an escort maintenance ship launched at Cockatoo Island in Sydney on 7 October 1966, and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS STALWART on 9 February 1968.

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John Kelly (WEBMASTER)
R42620
Ex-WOMTH
13th MOBI Intake
July'62 to July'83
Nirimba x3 - Rushcutter - Sydney x2 (Carrier) - Melbourne (Carrier) - Penguin - Kuttabul - Creswell x3 - Stalwart x2 - Brisbane.

www.navy.gov.au/spc/history/ships/stalwart2-8.html - 7k

and it is still grey.

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Brian Mackenzie
ex-Shipwright Instructor
Oct '88 to Dec '93 (NIRIMBA) before and beyond

What a sad sight. As my first ship after Nirimba, the Stalwart certainly brings back many fond memories. The first trip up top as an 18 yearold ERA3 and the VD stakes being run in the aft stokers mess. The volleyball game on the flight deck and DAG Williams leaps over the side after the ball. Only trouble was that there was a 3 to 4 knot current running. Some time and distance later the ships boat retrieved him. And do those who served remember when we used to fall in as liberty men on or below the flight deck alongside GID and some fool tossed a rubber glove over the side with a weight attached so that it looked like someones hand floating with the peceived body below the waterline. The young Subby OOD had a fit and "away rescue" boat. Our leave was delayed for some time. Finally I remember doing a "48 on" alongside GID and decided to get my head down whilst vapping to the fwd fresh water tanks. When I woke and proceeded forward the noise of water got louder as I proceeded down 4 decks. Took me hours to clean it up but got away with it. The stores bashers were whinging for months aftrewards about the rusted condition of their boxed stores stowed in the area.

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Ken Caporn
O43272
Ex- LCDR SDEN(ME)
21st MOBI Intake
July 1966 to Aug 1989
Nirimba, Stalwart, Paluma, PNGS Ladava, Creswell, PNGS Samarai, Leeuwin, Cerberus,
Carpentaria, Harman, Lombrum, Melbourne, Moresby, Harman, Swan, Stirling.