WHEN Anita Sellick joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1994, women had been going to sea on RAN ships for only about a year.
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"At that stage, it was really quite new, and I think everybody was learning about the differences and the nuances of having women at sea," Commander Sellick tells the Herald for its weekly online interview series, The Issue.
Twenty-five years on, Anita Sellick is the commanding officer of HMAS Newcastle. For Anita Sellick, that is a double honour, as she is in command of 210 officers and crew on a ship that carries the name of her hometown.
In her interview for The Issue, Commander Sellick talks about growing up in Newcastle, how the navy has changed during her 25 years of service, and how it can continue to change, including in attracting more women to enlist.
And, as the final commanding officer of the Newcastle before it is decommissioned on June 30, she shares her views on this moment in Australian naval history.
"It will be sad to see HMAS Newcastle go. I think it's important to recognise the ... connection between the city of Newcastle and the navy. It's been there a very long time, it is a maritime town," Commander Sellick says.
