Naval Command
On 9 May 1957, he married Shirley McLellan. Together they had two daughters and a son, Commodore Peter John Sinclair AO CSC, who joined the Navy and was the Commander in charge of the commissioning of the Collins class submarines. Sinclair's first command was of HMAS Duchess from 1970 to 1972 and then for the Guided Missile Destroyer, HMAS Hobart. As Commander in 1974, his ship was called upon to take part in the relief operations in Darwin, Northern Territory following Cyclone Tracy.
Commanding until 1977, Sinclair soon rose to higher administrative and directive roles in the navy, serving as Commander of HMAS Penguin naval base in 1978, Director of Naval Plans from 1979 to 1980, Director-General of the Military Staff Branch Strategic and International Policy Division Department of Defence from 1980 to 1982 and Chief of Staff and Deputy to the Naval Support Commander from 1983 to 1984. Sinclair was Chief Project officer during the establishment of the tri-service Australian Defence Force Academy, serving as its first Commandant from 1984 to 1986. In the 1986 New Year Honours list, Sinclair was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "Service to The Royal Australian Navy, particularly as the First Commandant of the Australian Defence Force Academy". In 1987 he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet, a position which later changed to Maritime Commander, Australia.
During the 1987 Fijian coups d'état, Sinclair was in charge of the evacuation of all Australian citizens from Fiji. In 1989, he was appointed as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. He served only briefly and in that same year he retired from the Navy to take up cattle breeding at "Kirkbreck" a property near Tea Gardens, New South Wales. In 1990, the Premier of New South Wales, Nick Greiner, asked Sinclair to coordinate the Flood Relief Operations during the Nyngan and Bogan Shire floods.
Read more about this topic: Peter Sinclair (governor)
Famous quotes containing the words naval and/or command:
“The world was a huge ball then, the universe a might harmony of ellipses, everything moved mysteriously, incalculable distances through the ether.
We used to feel the awe of the distant stars upon us. All that led to was the eighty-eight naval guns, ersatz, and the night air-raids over cities. A magnificent spectacle.
After the collapse of the socialist dream, I came to America.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“We can’t command our love, but we can our actions.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)