HMAS ''Melville'' is a former

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) shore base located in

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the smalle ...

, in Australia. The base was in use between 1935 and 1974.

History

Established in January 1935 as HMAS ''Penguin'' V, a naval reserve depot, commanded by Lieutenant Commander H.P. Jarrett of the Naval Reserve District of Queensland. In 1937 Lieutenant Commander J.H. Walker was appointed the District Naval Officer of the newly created Naval District of the Northern Territory. A high-powered Wireless Transmitting Station was built in 1939 and also the construction of fuelling facilities, boom depot and improvements to Darwin's water supply. The depot was renamed HMAS ''Penguin IV'' with the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. On 1 August 1940, the depot was commissioned as HMAS ''Melville''. The Naval Wireless Transmitting Station Coonawarra, which operated under the command of ''Melville'', provided essential communications in support of the Allied operations in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

and

South West Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the D ...

regions. The base was subjected to numerous bombing raids during the '' Battle of Darwin'' and suffered significant damage. After the cessation of hostilities, the base was hampered by the continuing expansion of Darwin and the increase in numbers of naval personnel. It was decided to move the operations to the Naval Wireless Transmitting Station Coonawarra, which was commissioned on 16 March 1970 as HMAS ''Coonawarra''. ''Melville'' continued to remain in use until it was destroyed by

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned t ...

on 25 December 1974.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melville Closed facilities of the Royal Australian Navy 1935 establishments in Australia 1974 disestablishments in Australia Military units and formations established in 1935 Military units and formations disestablished in 1974 Buildings and structures in Darwin, Northern Territory History of Darwin, Northern Territory Cyclone Tracy

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links