ACT chief police officer Ray Johnson stood on London Circuit on Saturday, a lone figure blocking the path of about 350 people marching towards him with swords drawn, colours flying and drums beating.
Assistant Commissioner Johnson needed only to raise his right hand to stop them in their tracks outside the Legislative Assembly as he ordered them to "halt", before asking, "Who goes there?".
He was issuing a ceremonial challenge to the ship's company of HMAS Canberra, which was exercising its freedom of entry to the city bearing its name for the first time since 2015.
After inspecting a ceremonial scroll, Assistant Commissioner Johnson granted the crew freedom of entry, which is the highest honour a city may bestow on the Australian Defence Force.
"I'm pleased they stopped," Assistant Commissioner Johnson joked.
Hundreds of people lined the streets in Civic to see the tri-service crew of HMAS Canberra, comprising members of the Navy, Army and Air Force, march through the national capital. They were joined by members of the HMAS Shropshire Association of Canberra, and local Navy cadets.
HMAS Canberra is the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy fleet, and the largest the Navy has ever operated at 27,000 tonnes.
The vessel is 230 metres long and is capable of transporting 1400 people, up to 18 helicopters, four landing craft and more than 100 ground vehicles.
This year, the ship has sailed more than 22,000 nautical miles and been away from Australia for nearly seven months. Its schedule has included visits to Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia as part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour, an international engagement exercise.
HMAS Canberra commanding officer Captain Terry Morrison said it was an honour for the warship's crew to march through the streets and take part in a traditional ceremony that drew inspiration from medieval times.
"Cities would defend themselves against warring factions, and you'd have the local police come up and challenge anyone with weapons," he said on Saturday.
"That was done here today. Fortunately, we had all the approvals."
Captain Morrison said the ship's company had visited the Australian War Memorial on Friday night and a number of them had been conducting exercises in the capital in recent days.
He said some of the crew were travelling to Sydney on Saturday night, while others would stay in Canberra a few more days.
Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry, who also played a role in welcoming the ship's company to the ACT, said the occasion was a recognition of Canberra's relationship with the Navy.
"It's also about making sure that we have great trust and respect for HMAS Canberra and the work it does in advertising this city around the country and also around the world," she said.
