HMAS ''Kuttabul'' 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) base located in in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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. ''Kuttabul'' provides administrative, training, logistics and accommodation support to naval personnel assigned to the various facilities that form

Fleet Base East Fleet Base East is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) major fleet base that comprises several naval establishments and facilities clustered around Sydney Harbour, centred on HMAS ''Kuttabul''. Fleet Base East extends beyond the borders of ''Kuttabu ...

, the main operational navy base on the east coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. 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 A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

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 From 31 May to 8 June 1942, during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three Ko-hyoteki class ...

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 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 ...

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. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involve ...

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