HMAS Watson
This is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base on Sydney Harbour at South Head, near Watsons Bay in Sydney, NSW. Commissioned in 1945 (after three years operating as HMAS Radar), the base served as the RAN's radar training school. In 1956, torpedo and anti-submarine warfare training were relocated to the base, and by 2011, Watson was the main maritime warfare training base, as well as providing post-entry education for maritime warfare officers, training for combat system and electronic warfare sailors, and command training.
The base's name is derived from its location at Watsons Bay, which in turn was named after Robert Watson, the quartermaster of HMS Sirius, a ship of the First Fleet. In 1801, Governor Philip King granted Watson land at South Head, where he settled. Watson later becoming boatswain, senior harbour pilot and harbourmaster of the new colony. In 1818, Governor Lachlan Macquarie commissioned the "Macquarie Lighthouse" appointing Watson as the first superintendent of the lighthouse. Today, the Macquarie Lighthouse is depicted in the centre of the crest of HMAS Watson.
South Head was recognised as an important site for the young colony and, as early as the first year of settlement, a signal gun from HMS Sirius was installed at South Head (some 300m off to the left of the image above) in order to indicate the arrival of any ships.
The first permanent military presence on South Head commenced in 1871 with the development of coastal artillery emplacements to defend the Port of Sydney. The first barracks, occupied by members of the NSW Artillery, were completed 19 March 1877. Extensions were added in 1880 to accommodate additional personnel. Many of the early barracks constructions are still standing.
An embrasure for what I assume was a coastal artillery piece can be seen in the cliff face in the lower left corner of the image. The adjacent beach in Lady Bay, below HMAS Watson, is apparently a nudist beach - something I certainly didn't know when taking the photo!
To give a sense of the enormous scale of Sydney Harbour, it should be noted that the world-famous Opera House is some 6.3 km to the south-east (off to the right of the image), with the Sydney Harbour Bridge beyond that and the inner harbour extending well over 10 km beyond that.
Taken from aboard a floatplane heading out of the harbour and north up the coast.
HMAS Watson
This is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base on Sydney Harbour at South Head, near Watsons Bay in Sydney, NSW. Commissioned in 1945 (after three years operating as HMAS Radar), the base served as the RAN's radar training school. In 1956, torpedo and anti-submarine warfare training were relocated to the base, and by 2011, Watson was the main maritime warfare training base, as well as providing post-entry education for maritime warfare officers, training for combat system and electronic warfare sailors, and command training.
The base's name is derived from its location at Watsons Bay, which in turn was named after Robert Watson, the quartermaster of HMS Sirius, a ship of the First Fleet. In 1801, Governor Philip King granted Watson land at South Head, where he settled. Watson later becoming boatswain, senior harbour pilot and harbourmaster of the new colony. In 1818, Governor Lachlan Macquarie commissioned the "Macquarie Lighthouse" appointing Watson as the first superintendent of the lighthouse. Today, the Macquarie Lighthouse is depicted in the centre of the crest of HMAS Watson.
South Head was recognised as an important site for the young colony and, as early as the first year of settlement, a signal gun from HMS Sirius was installed at South Head (some 300m off to the left of the image above) in order to indicate the arrival of any ships.
The first permanent military presence on South Head commenced in 1871 with the development of coastal artillery emplacements to defend the Port of Sydney. The first barracks, occupied by members of the NSW Artillery, were completed 19 March 1877. Extensions were added in 1880 to accommodate additional personnel. Many of the early barracks constructions are still standing.
An embrasure for what I assume was a coastal artillery piece can be seen in the cliff face in the lower left corner of the image. The adjacent beach in Lady Bay, below HMAS Watson, is apparently a nudist beach - something I certainly didn't know when taking the photo!
To give a sense of the enormous scale of Sydney Harbour, it should be noted that the world-famous Opera House is some 6.3 km to the south-east (off to the right of the image), with the Sydney Harbour Bridge beyond that and the inner harbour extending well over 10 km beyond that.
Taken from aboard a floatplane heading out of the harbour and north up the coast.