HMAS Hawkesbury spent most of her wartime career on escort duty in New Guinea and Philippine waters. She also carried Australian troops to Borneo. Those assignments demanded transport capacity, local endurance, and protection rather than a single specialist mission. The ship worked almost continuously. Her service shows the River design contributing to the movement and sustainment of land campaigns across a maritime theatre.
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Hawkesbury escorted and carried troops across the Pacific
Hawkesbury's near-continuous escort work in New Guinea and Philippine waters, along with troop transport to Borneo, demonstrates the River class's Pacific utility.