By
Graham Davis
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Defence
Minister Senator Hill presents an Armidale name board to
VADM Ritchie at the launch of the Navy’s Heritage Centre.
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Photo:
ABPH Nina Nikolin
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Australia
will soon have a major naval heritage centre and museum at Garden
Island in Sydney, with an investment of $5 million.
The Defence Minister, Senator Robert Hill, and the Chief of Navy,
VADM Chris Ritchie, told 100 invited guests in Building 7/8 it
was planned that the centre would open late next year.
“I hope to see a steady stream of school children and other interested
parties go through the centre,” VADM Ritchie said.
The centre, at the northern end of Garden Island, Sydney, will
consist of two converted heritage-listed buildings, the former
gunmounting workshop
(Building 7/8) and the boatshed (Building 25).
An area between the two buildings will be landscaped for large
external displays. The development will include a café and conference
facilities.
Many of the 500,000 items currently kept at the Spectacle Island
naval repository will be displayed in the new centre.
Two highlights in the main building will be the conning tower
from one of the three Japanese midget submarines which attacked
Sydney on May 31-June 1, 1942, and the boom boat which was dispatched
to check a report of “a submarine caught in the boom net” that
night.
“The RAN Heritage Centre will be an institution of national significance,”
Senator Hill said.
“It is a major commitment by the Government to conserving and
opening up Australia’s rich heritage to the nation.” He said the
development of the centre was the culmination of the Navy’s re-invigoration
of its heritage management.
The centre will exhibit at museum standard, artefacts from the
RAN Collection. “The Naval collection is one of the largest of
its kind in the world,” the Minister said.
“It represents our Navy’s physical history and illustrates its
role in the defence and development of Australia since colonial
times.
“The exhibits will acknowledge the sacrifice of all those men
and women who have served Australia so well.
“They will also enhance the Navy’s internal ethos and further
inform and educate the public on our Navy’s history through more
than 100 years of peace and war.
“The centre will complement the work of other institutions such
as the Australian War Memorial, Australian National Maritime Museum
and the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.”
Senator Hill said the Navy would open the centre seven days per
week with public access by ferry from Circular Quay to Garden
Island.
“Visitors will also be able to enjoy the historic gardens and
unparalleled views of Sydney Harbour in the public access area,”
he said.
Senator Hill said talks on having a Royal Australian Navy heritage
centre in Sydney had begun in 1922. Since then there had been
debate about where to place the centre.
HMA Ships Penguin and Watson were among suggested sites.
VADM Ritchie told the group the centre would provide “a significant
milestone in the heritage of the RAN”. He said he hoped many school
children and other interested parties would visit the centre.
Interest is already on the rise. CMDR Murray Baker told Navy News
the NSW History Teachers’ Association was closely watching developments.
The huge task of stocking the centre falls to CMDR Shane Moore,
director of the Spectacle Island facility.
Senator Hill handed VADM Ritchie an Armidale name board presented
to him by DMS/Austal who are building 12 Armidale Class patrol
boats for the RAN.
