Then in 1973 the Maritime Trust of Australia came to the rescue, and its volunteers took Castlemaine home to her birthplace of Williamstown, Victoria.
Over decades they restored her wartime configuration, and today maintain the heritage-registered corvette.
HMAS Castlemaine, still afloat, tells her story of conflict in the Pacific - and of the young men who confronted its dangers with courage, hard work and good humour.
Kerry Hodges apprenticed in Williamstown as a fitter and turner, then in 1961 joined the Royal Australian Naval Reserve. He went to sea as a marine engineer with Port Line and P&O until 1971, then worked at the Victorian Arts Centre overseeing building maintenance. When Castlemaine arrived at South Wharf in 1974 he helped with reconnecting electricity throughout the ship. He also started researching Castlemaine's past through the Australian Archives, then wrote the ship’s history.