HMAS ''Watson'' is a

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...

(RAN) base on

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane Cove and Parramatta River, Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or harbor, natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. T ...

at South Head, near

Watsons Bay Watsons Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, Australia. Commissioned in 1945 (after three years operating as HMAS ''Radar''), the base served as the RAN's

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

training school. In 1956, torpedo and anti-submarine warfare training were relocated to the base, and by 2011, ''Watson'' was the main maritime warfare training base, as well as providing post-entry education for maritime warfare officers, training for combat system and

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent ...

sailors, and command training.

History

The base's name is derived from its location at

, which in turn was named after Robert Watson, the

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

of HMS ''Sirius'', a ship of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...

. In 1801,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Philip King granted Watson land at South Head, where he settled. Watson later becoming

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervis ...

, senior

harbour pilot A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

and

harbourmaster A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct opera ...

of the new colony. In 1818, Governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, an ...

commissioned the

Macquarie Lighthouse The Macquarie Lighthouse, also known as South Head Upper Light, is the first, and is the longest serving, lighthouse site in Australia. It is located on Dunbar Head, on Old South Head Road, Vaucluse in the Municipality of Woollahra local gover ...

appointing Watson as the first

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of the lighthouse. Today, the Macquarie Lighthouse is depicted in the centre of the crest of HMS ''Watson''.HMAS Watson
/ref> South Head was recognised as an important site for the young colony and, as early as the first year of settlement, a signal gun from HMS ''Sirius'' was installed at South Head in order to indicate the arrival of any ships. The first permanent military presence on South Head commenced in 1871 with the development of

Coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form o ...

emplacements to defend the Port of Sydney. The first barracks, occupied by members of the NSW Artillery, were completed 19 March 1877. Extensions were added in 1880 to accommodate additional personnel. Many of the early barracks constructions are still standing. The RAN first established training facilities at South Head in 1942, when the navy's

school was shifted there from . The facility initially operated under the name HMAS ''Radar'', but was commissioned as HMAS ''Watson'' on 14 March 1945. Torpedo and anti-submarine warfare training were relocated to ''Watson'' in 1956.

Facilities and operational units

''Watson''s main role is for the training of RAN personnel in maritime warfare. In addition, the base provides post-entry training for maritime warfare officers in areas of navigation, ship handling, tactics, weapons, and sensors; training for combat system operator and electronic warfare category sailors; and command training for recently promoted commanding and

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

s. It is also the parent base for RAN personnel studying at Sydney universities. The facility has a ship's company of 300.

References

External links

HMAS Watson official website
*

CC-By-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyric ...

] {{RAN Bases Military installations established in 1945 Royal Australian Navy bases, Watson Fleet Base East 1945 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Sydney Military installations in New South Wales Watsons Bay, New South Wales

History

Facilities and operational units

See also

References

External links