HMAS Dubbo was another Fremantle-class patrol boat, named after the inland New South Wales city and built to uphold the versatile patrol legacy of her Bathurst-class predecessor. With a small, close-knit ship’s company, she undertook long patrols enforcing fisheries regulations, deterring illegal activity, and supporting joint operations with other agencies around Australia’s vast northern and eastern approaches. Dubbo exemplified the quiet effectiveness of the Fremantle class, translating the spirit of the wartime ‘little ships’ into a contemporary constabulary role that safeguarded Australian waters every day she was at sea.
