HMAS Rushcutter (naval base) explained

HMAS Rushcutter
Location:Rushcutters Bay and Darling Point, Sydney,
New South Wales
Country:Australia
Type:Naval base
Coordinates:-33.8728°N 151.2349°W
Pushpin Map:New South Wales
Pushpin Mapsize:300
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in New South Wales
Pushpin Relief:1

HMAS Rushcutter is a former Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base that served as a depot, radar and anti-submarine training school located at Rushcutters Bay and Darling Point, in Sydney's eastern suburbs in New South Wales, Australia.

History

Originally the New South Wales headquarters of the Naval Brigade and naval artillery from 1901, the site was used as an administrative depot due to the demolition of Fort Macquarie as facilities for the compulsory peacetime training from 1911-1929. The site remained as the Naval Reserve Depot and the Anti Submarine School was opened there in 1939 and used by the RAN and newly formed Anti-Submarine Branch of the Naval Reserve.

On 1 August 1940, the depot was commissioned as HMAS Rushcutter. During World War II the site housed the Anti-Submarine School, the Radar and Gunnery Instruction School and served as a base for the mosquito fleet: Harbour Defence Motor Launches, the Fairmiles and the Naval Auxiliary Patrol Boats. The training of RAN Radar Operators transferred from HMAS Rushcutter to HMAS Watson in 1943. The technical functions of Radar operation remained at HMAS Rushcutter. At the end of World War II, the site became a training facility for the RAN Experimental Labs and Research Labs.[1]

Current use

In 1979 the Government of Australia transferred the site to the Government of New South Wales ownership for public recreational use.[2]

See also

Notes and References

  1. AWM Plaque Dedication - HMAS Rushcutter . https://web.archive.org/web/20070905165341/http://www.navy.gov.au/speeches/2006/hmas_rushcutter.html . Shalders, Russ . Chief of Navy . Chief of Navy (Australia) . Russ Shalders . . 24 March 2006 . 5 September 2007 . 13 August 2017 .
  2. Web site: The Studio at The Drill Hall . . 13 August 2017 .