HMAS ''Rushcutter'' 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) base that served as a depot, radar and anti-submarine training school located at

Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government ar ...

and , in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

eastern suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

History

Originally the New South Wales headquarters of the Naval Brigade and

naval artillery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...

from 1901, the site was used as an administrative depot due to the demolition of

Fort Macquarie Fort Macquarie was a square castle, castellated battlement fort built in 1798 at Bennelong Point, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the site where the Sydney Opera House now stands. It was demolished in 1901 to make way for the Fort Macqua ...

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 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 ...

the site housed the Anti-Submarine School, the Radar and Gunnery Instruction School and served as a base for the

mosquito fleet The term Mosquito Fleet has had a variety of naval and commercial uses around the world. United States In United States, U.S. naval and maritime history, the term has had ten main meanings: #The United States Navy's fleet of small gunboats, lead ...

: 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.

Current use

In 1979 the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

transferred the site to

NSW Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

ownership for public recreational use.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rushcutter, Hmas Rushcutter 1940 establishments in Australia Military installations established in 1940 1979 disestablishments in Australia

History

Current use

See also

References