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massive impact on a ship like Murchison in Korea. Many of the crew’s tasks performed on the upper decks – the ship had an open bridge and all its guns were open mountings – and the temperatures were so cold that exposed skin couldstick to metal and the grease for gun mountings could freeze. The Australian Navy did not have enough suitable cold-weather clothing, so sailors often relied on civilian clothing to keep themselves warm. Murchison had also been built for operations in warmer waters, so the ship did not have the heating systems built into the original British design. Even inside the ship, temperatures were so low that condensation froze on the bulkheads and the crew used layers of brown paper to help stay warm. Stephen Joyce recalled:
    when we were on shore leave you bought brown paper, and you used to wrap the brown paper round your body, then put your – of course, the singlets in those days, they were like a thermal type thing – then pull your singlet down over that, then your jumper over that, and then you used to cut the brown paper in strips and wrap it round your legs, and the brown paper would act as an insulation against the cold. 15
    The truly amazing thing here is that Murchison still reached such high operational standards. The ship overcame immense difficulties of weather, operating conditions and crew training. This success enabled the ship to operate safely and consistently in the Han River estuary, prepared to conduct not only the naval gunfire bombardment tasks, but also to respond the North Korean ground force attacks in response.
    In September 1951, Murchison was involved in several closerange battles with North Korean forces that had concealed positions on the northern shore of the estuary. The ranges were very short, around 1800 metres (or one nautical mile) and on some occasions much less. This was point blank range for Murchison ’s main armament of two twin 4-inch guns, and not much more than that for its secondary armament of 40-millimetre Bofors guns.The Australian ship returned fire, but the results were inconclusive and the incidents demonstrated the risks of such operations by large ships. The restricted waters meant the initiative lay with the North Koreans, who could chose if and when to engage from ashore. Murchison was hit numerous times by machine-gun fire and occasionally by some larger shells, but no serious damage was done, nor were there any deaths. The engagements did, however, reflect very well on the tactical and operational standards that the vessel had achieved, and this had a widespread positive effect on the Australian Navy’s reputation as a fighting service, particularly because on the first occasion she was so engaged Murchison had a senior US Admiral on board to observe the bombardment operations. Murchison spent more time in the Han estuary than any other ship and was light-heartedly dubbed the ‘Baron of the Han’ at the end of her deployment in February 1952, indicative of the esteem in which she was held by Allied forces.
    Sadly, on 2 February 1952, while en route to the naval base at Sasebo in Japan, Murchison collided at night in rough weather with an unlit South Korean motorised fishing junk, with the loss of several of the junk’s crew. In the course of the rescue operation, the ship’s Chief Bosun’s Mate, Petty Officer Reg Farrington, jumped into the water to help save the fishermen. Farrington had also been responsible for much of the training of the Murchison ’s junior seamen, and as the captain of the after 4-inch gun mount had played a crucial role first in forming them into a highly skilled gun crew and then leading them in the ship’s numerous close actions in the Han River. His courage in action and in the rescue at sea was enormous. While this was never formally recognised by any award, there is no doubt that Farrington is yet another small portion of Australia’s naval history that is