HMAS ''Nirimba'' is a former

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) training base located at the former RAAF Station Schofields at Nirimba Fields, previously Schofields, 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.

History

''Nirimba'' is a

Darug The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...

word meaning

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

. Schofields aerodrome was evaluated for use as the site of the RAN Aircraft Repair Yard, following the formation of the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm in November 1950. The RAN moved in and Schofields was temporarily commissioned as HMAS Albatross II, RANARY Schofields with a contingent of

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 ...

officers and sailors supplementing the RAN Component. In January 1952, the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

transferred control of the base to the RAN, but remained in residence until September 1952. On 1 April 1953, the Royal Australian Naval Air Repair Yard Schofields was commissioned as HMAS ''Nirimba'', a joint RANARY and technical training establishment for RAN Fleet Air Arm. The Aircraft Repair Yard was short lived however, and was closed down in early 1955 and HMAS ''Nirimba'' and the airfield were reduced to "Care and Maintenance" status. In September 1955, preparations began to recommission HMAS ''Nirimba'' as the RAN Apprentice Training Establishment (RANATE) for Naval Apprentice training. The establishment reopened in January 1956, Captain F L George RAN assumed command. On 4 January 1956, HMAS ''Nirimba'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

to recommission the next day as HMAS ''Nirimba'', RAN Apprentice Training Establishment. ''Nirimba'' was finally decommissioned on 25 February 1994, having trained some 13,000 young men and women from the RAN and other

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

navies. The site has since been redeveloped as the Nirimba Education precinct and houses facilities for the

Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus public research university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university in its current form was founde ...

, the Western Sydney Institute,

Wyndham College Wyndham College is a public senior secondary school located at Nirimba Fields, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1999, its intake of students comes from three surrounding high schools: Quakers Hill High School, Riverstone High Scho ...

and the

St John Paul II Catholic College The St John Paul II Catholic College is a dual schoolcampus Independent school, independent Roman Catholicism in Australia, Roman Catholic Mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary school, secondary day school, with campuses located in Nir ...

. In November 2020, the portion of Schofields that houses the precinct became the new suburb of Nirimba Fields.New Blacktown City suburbs officially named
The National Tribune 2 November 2020 The site also the scene of dress rehearsals for the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

opening ceremony.

References

External links

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History

See also

References

External links

Further reading