A family pays tribute
The Australian National Maritime Museum is home to one of Australia’s Cold War remnants, the Oberon class submarine HMAS Onslow.
The vessel was commissioned in 1969 and decommissioned and transferred from Department of Defence to the museum in 1999 where it remains a major drawcard for museum visitors
Issues arise in the heat and humidity of a Sydney summer when the museum is forced to close the vessel to the public as conditions inside become uncomfortable.
Onslow’s existing ventilation system comprised an axial fan, which delivered unfiltered and unconditioned air through the conning tower into the occupied areas of the submarine. This lead to temperatures inside the vessel reaching 4–5°C higher than outside.
Enter Ashak Nathwani AM, Researcher and Senior Lecturer in HVAC at the University of Sydney. Ashak knew the museum well having been a designer of the original air-conditioning system in 1991 as a director of leading HVAC consultants, Norman, Disney and Young.
Ashak was at the museum discussing all things COVID and air conditioning with museum management when he heard about the continual environmental problems with the Onslow.
Hearing that the early closures affected children through school visits and school holidays, he was inspired to design and cover the costs of a new system on behalf of the Nathwani family in honour of his wife Samim.
Samim Nathwani was an Early Childhood Development expert with two Masters degrees who tragically succumbed to the insidious Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in November 2019.
‘Samim always advocated that children learn through experience and would not have been happy knowing that children were missing out. It struck me that I could provide a solution, my expertise in air conditioning and the family could provide the funds to make it happen,’ said Ashak. ‘It seemed like a fitting tribute to her passion.’
Features of the new and greatly improved system:
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Custom-made due to size constraints – careful positioning of the air handling unit in the snorkel mast, replacing the fresh air fan, and the condensing unit located in the chamber below the main cabins
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Options limited due to heritage considerations
Corrosive outdoor conditions
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High ambient dry bulb temperatures combined with high humidity
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Supply air needed to be filtered with MERV-13 air filters (to meet COVID requirements)
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Condensing unit needed to be delivered by barge and crane
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Elements needed to be able to be loaded on board through existing hatches
COVID restrictions has disrupted full access of the public to the vessel until recent weeks where outside humidity has been an issue. On board however the temperature has remained 4-5 degrees cooler than the ambient temperature which has meant the Onslow has been open fully with happy patrons, volunteers and staff.
‘With school groups starting back post COVID-19 we couldn’t be happier,’ said museum Interim Director & CEO, Tanya Bush. ‘The feedback, particularly from our volunteers, who are on the Onslow for long periods has been great. We thank Amyn & Rehana Nathwani for their generosity and in this wonderful tribute to their mum, Samim.’
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