Fleet Base East is a
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
(RAN) major
fleet base that comprises several naval establishments and facilities clustered around
Sydney Harbour
Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...
, centred on
HMAS ''Kuttabul''. Fleet Base East extends beyond the borders of ''Kuttabul'' and includes the commercially-operated dockyard at , and adjacent wharf facilities at nearby
Woolloomooloo, east of the
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...
in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia.
Fleet Base East is one of two major facilities of the RAN, the other facility being
Fleet Base West. The fleet operates in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
.
Confusingly, naval personnel often use the term Fleet Base East to mean the naval wharves at Garden Island where ships assigned to the Fleet Base usually berth but the official designation includes several other bases and facilities as well.
History
Sydney was considered the centre of naval activity in Australia from the arrival of the
First Fleet
The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
in 1788. Over the course of the 19th century the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
developed facilities around Sydney Harbour, most notably at Garden Island. Those facilities passed to the newly formed Royal Australian Navy in 1911 and Sydney became home port to the Australian Fleet. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
there was significant expansion of the naval facilities around Sydney Harbour, including a large expansion of the dockyards at Garden Island. After World War II, Australia began to have growing interests in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
areas to the west of Australia and the need for a major base on the west coast of the continent was identified. This resulted in the eventual construction during the 1970s of
HMAS ''Stirling'', near
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
in
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. In 1987 the decision was taken to permanently split the basing of the Australian Fleet. The collection of facilities and bases on Sydney Harbour was designated Fleet Base East while ''Stirling'' was designated Fleet Base West.
[
Thales Australia has successfully operated at the Garden Island dockyards since the early 1980s and in 2014 signed a further five-year contract with the Department of Defence to provide ongoing dock operations and services, as well as ship repair and maintenance services at Garden Island.
During the 2013 federal election campaign, ]Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...
proposed that under a Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
government, the Sydney-based facilities of Fleet Base East would be relocated further north, with options of Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
and the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
suggested. However, by 2017 and following the release of the 2016 Defence White Paper, a 213 million upgrade of the Garden Island dockyards were proposed. However, the white paper also stated that they are planning to come up with a long-term solution to space constraints at HMAS ''Kuttabul.''[
]
Constituent bases and facilities
Fleet Base East is home to more than sixty per cent of Australia’s surface fleet and comprises:
* HMAS ''Kuttabul'' the shore establishment that provides administrative, logistical, training and accommodation support to Fleet Base East. It is located in Potts Point, immediately adjacent to Garden Island. It also supports naval personnel assigned to other duties throughout the greater Sydney region.
* Garden Island the largest historic naval area on Sydney Harbour, with use going back to the founding of the colony in 1788. Greatly expanded during World War II, it now comprises major dockyard facilities run by a civilian operator, the naval wharves used by major fleet units of the RAN, various training facilities under the control of HMAS Kuttabul and a heritage precinct, open to the public, that includes the official museum of the Royal Australian Navy.
* HMAS ''Waterhen'' a smaller base on another part of Sydney Harbour. It is home to the RAN Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving Group and has berthing facilities for the RAN's coastal mine hunting ships and other smaller vessels.
Former constituent bases
HMAS ''Platypus'', located in Neutral Bay
Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council.
Neutral Bay takes ...
on the northern side of Sydney Harbour, was the home base for the Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service and its fleet of six Oberon class submarines from 1967. It closed in 1999 when the submarine fleet moved to Fleet Base West to coincide with the introduction of new Collins class submarines.
HMAS ''Rushcutter'' was a small base at Rushcutters Bay, on the southern side of Sydney Harbour. Used for a variety of training and small boat operations, it closed in 1979.
Ships stationed
The following vessels are stationed at Fleet Base East:
''Canberra''-class landing helicopter dock
* HMAS ''Canberra''
* HMAS ''Adelaide''
''Anzac''-class frigate
* HMAS ''Parramatta''
* HMAS ''Warramunga''
* HMAS ''Arunta''
''Hobart''-class destroyer
* HMAS ''Hobart''
* HMAS ''Brisbane''
* HMAS ''Sydney''
''Huon''-class minehunters (at ''Waterhen'')
* HMAS ''Huon'' HMAS ''Hawkesbury'' (Decommissioned 2018)
* HMAS ''Norman'' (In Reserve - Decommissioned 2018)
* HMAS ''Gascoyne''
* HMAS ''Diamantina''
* HMAS ''Yarra''
Bay-class landing ship
* HMAS ''Choules''
Supply-class replenishment oiler
* HMAS Supply
* HMAS Stalwart
Multi-role Aircraft Training Vessel (at ''Waterhen'')
* MV ''Sycamore''
Sail training (at ''Waterhen'')
* STS ''Young Endeavour''
See also
*List of Royal Australian Navy bases">MV Sycamore">MV ''Sycamore''
Sail training (at ''Waterhen'')
*STS Young Endeavour">STS ''Young Endeavour''
See also
*List of Royal Australian Navy bases
References
External links
Official website
{{RAN Bases
Fleet Base East">
Sydney Harbour
Royal Australian Navy bases">Sydney Harbour">Fleet Base East">
Sydney Harbour
Royal Australian Navy bases
Military installations established in 1788
1788 establishments in Australia
Military installations in New South Wales