HMAS ''Penguin'' 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 at Balmoral on the

lower north shore In Australia, Lower North Shore refers to the affluent northern suburbs of Sydney adjoining Sydney Harbour. The three bodies of water that surround the Lower North Shore are Lane Cove River on its western border, Sydney Harbour on its south side, ...

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 ...

in the suburb of

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

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 ...

. ''Penguin'' is one of the RAN's primary training establishments, with a responsibility for providing trained specialists for all areas of the navy. The current commander of ''Penguin'' is

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Kent Browning, RAN.

History

''Penguin'' was initially established as the Balmoral Naval Depot and was also known as ''Penguin II'' in 1941 as a depot for the RAN's main naval base at

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 ...

(on

). In addition to accommodation for 700 personnel, as well as all the necessary administrative facilities, the Balmoral Naval Hospital was built on the site. ''Penguin II'' was commissioned in July 1942, and was renamed as simply HMAS ''Penguin'' in January 1943, when the Garden Island facility was renamed HMAS ''Kuttabul''. In addition to its role as a depot, ''Penguin'' served as a base for the motor launches responsible for patrolling

. After the end of World War II, ''Penguin'' began its service as a training establishment. The RAN Seamanship School was located at ''Penguin'' from 1945 to 1974, while from 1951 to 1954 it was the Navy's National Service Recruit School. ''Penguin'' has also played host to the RAN Staff College and the Security and Naval Police Coxswains School. In addition, a number of operational units of the RAN were once based at ''Penguin'', including Clearance Diving Teams One and Two, and the Royal Navy's 4th Submarine Squadron (disbanded 1969). The Balmoral Naval Hospital closed in 2006.

Facilities and operational units

As part of the RAN Navy Systems Command, the ''Penguin'' site is home to several of the navy's major specialist training schools, including: *ADF Diving School (ADFDS) *RAN Hydrographic School *RAN Medical School In addition, ''Penguin'' was also home to the navy's principal medical facility, Balmoral Naval Hospital, which provided some of the trained personnel for the Primary Casualty Receiving Facilities

CRF CRF may refer to: Science and technology * Corticotropin-releasing factor family, a family of related neuropeptides in vertebrates ** Corticotropin-releasing hormone or corticotropin-releasing factor, a polypeptide hormone * Chromatographic respons ...

on the RAN's ''Kanimbla'' class vessels. Balmoral Naval Hospital closed 13 March 2008 for refurbishment. The Navy's hospital care will be provided through a contract with St Vincent's Hospital, located in

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

. As well as this, ''Penguin'' is the home of the Submarine and Underwater Medicine Unit (SUMU), the RAN Recompression Chamber Facility (RCCF), Maritime Operational Health Unit (MOHU), the ADF Centre for Mental Health and the Penguin Health Centre. In 2006, ''Penguin'' received as lodger units both Headquarters and 1st Commando Company (1Coy) of the 1st Commando Regiment.

Gallery

Image:HMAS Penguin Middle Head Road.jpg, The

Middle Head The Sydney Heads (also simply known as the Heads) are a series of headlands that form the wide entrance to Sydney Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north; South Head and Dunbar Head are to ...

Road approach to HMAS ''Penguin''. Image:HMAS Penguin building.jpg, The Gatehouse building of HMAS ''Penguin.'' Image:HMAS Penguin from Balmoral Beach.jpg, HMAS ''Penguin'' viewed across

Middle Harbour Middle Harbour (or ''Warrin ga''), a semi-mature tide dominated drowned valley estuary, is the northern arm of Port Jackson, an inlet of the Tasman Sea located north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Australi ...

from

Balmoral Beach Balmoral is an urban locality in the suburb of Mosman in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is in the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman and is part of the Lower North Shore. The locality is mostly known for its beach, of ...

References

External links

HMAS Penguin official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hmas Penguin (Naval Base)

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

Military education and training in Australia Fleet Base East Military installations established in 1941 1941 establishments in Australia Mosman Council Buildings and structures in Sydney Military installations in New South Wales

History

Facilities and operational units

Gallery

See also

References

External links