HMAS ''Kuttabul'' 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 of ...

(RAN) base located in in Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. ''Kuttabul'' provides administrative, training, logistics and accommodation support to naval personnel assigned to the various facilities that form Fleet Base East, the main operational navy base on the east coast of Australia. A part of Fleet Base East itself, ''Kuttabul'' occupies several buildings in the Sydney suburb of Potts Point and in the immediately adjacent Garden Island dockyard. It also supports navy personnel posted to other locations throughout the greater Sydney region. The base is named for the steam ferry HMAS ''Kuttabul'' that was sunk while docked at Garden Island during a Japanese midget submarine

attack on Sydney Harbour In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three ''Ko-hyoteki''-class midget submarin ...

in 1942.

History

Garden Island itself has been host to a naval base since 1856, when the government of

suggested giving the area over to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

as a base for ships serving on the Australia Station. Following the foundation of the Royal Australian Navy in 1911, all naval establishments were given over by the UK to the RAN. However, until 1939, the ownership of Garden Island itself was in dispute, with NSW claiming it as its property. This was solved when the Australian government initially requisitioned the island (together with the naval base) under emergency wartime powers. The government then purchased Garden Island from NSW for £638,000 in 1945. The Garden Island facility houses the Captain Cook Graving Dock which was, at the time of construction during World War II, the largest

graving dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

in the Southern Hemisphere. The dock was constructed between 1940 and 1945, by filling in the area between Garden Island and Potts Point. The dock and associated

dockyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

are operated under lease by

Thales Australia Thales Australia (formerly Australian Defence Industries and ADI Limited) is a defence contractor based in Australia. It is a subsidiary of the French defence technology conglomerate Thales Group. Thales Australia had been engaged in numerous ...

. The northern tip of Garden Island is as of 2008 open to the public, accessible only by ferry. The area features the Navy Heritage Centre, opened in 2004, and graffiti dating to the First Fleet in 1788. From its foundation until the establishment of the Two Ocean Policy and commissioning of HMAS ''Stirling'' in 1978, ''Kuttabul'' was the RAN's main naval base. With the establishment of two main bases, ''Kuttabul'' and Garden Island took on the additional designation of Fleet Base East.

Facilities and operational units

Although ''Kuttabul'' is the main administrative part of Fleet Base East, Fleet Base East is also responsible for the Mine Counter Measures forces of the RAN stationed on the east coast. These are based at HMAS ''Waterhen''.

Ships stationed

Gallery

HMAS Tobruk (L 50).jpg, HMAS ''Tobruk'' alongside at Fleet Base East in 2013 Garden Island, New South Wales (1).jpg, RSS ''Endeavour'' visiting Garden Island during the International Fleet Review 2013 Garden Island, New South Wales (2).jpg, Captain Cook Dock, Garden Island

References

{{Royal Navy shore establishments Kuttabul Kuttabul Military installations established in 1856 1856 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Sydney Military installations in New South Wales Garden Island (New South Wales) Potts Point, New South Wales

History

Facilities and operational units

Ships stationed

Gallery

See also

References