DSTO and the Navy have a long history of association. In the 1970s, Maribyrnong metallurgists assisted with the restoration of Captain Cook’s anchor.

A torpedo gyro and a collection of lenses used in the development of periscopes and naval telescopes are among the historic items DSTO has supplied to the new Royal Australian Naval Heritage Centre (RANHC).

The items from DSTO’s Maribyrnong Heritage Collection represent significant links to RAN technological development over the last 100 years.

The planned closure of DSTO Maribyrnong has left several hundred military and scientific artefacts without a permanent home.

Project officer Michelle Sullivan said it was an important priority for DSTO to assimilate these heritage items into appropriate collections.

“DSTO is pleased that the Royal Australian Naval Heritage Centre will continue to convey the richly layered story of maritime research at Maribyrnong through their collection,” she said.

The artefacts originate from a collection identified and categorised by heritage contractor, Kristen Thornton.

Items with significance to Maribyrnong will remain with DSTO, while the remainder of the collection will be placed in repositories similar to the heritage centre.

The list of artefacts includes scientific equipment such as a 1942 Christian Becker electro-chemistry balance, used in corrosion testing of ship hulls and reflects the technological partnership that has in one way another always existed between science and Navy.

In approving the transfer of these items the Maribyrnong Heritage Committee (MHC) expects that the Naval Heritage Centre intends to preserve the heritage items and will contribute to the ongoing interpretation of their stories as well as maintain the integrity of the items heritage value.

The director of the expected $5 million heritage centre, CMDR Shane Moore is deeply committed to meeting these conditions.

“The Naval Heritage Collection is one of the largest of its type in the world and has a significant technology element,” he said.

“Navy has relied heavily on technology throughout its history to fight and win at sea.

“The story of that technology – engineering, weapons, communications and optics is an important plinth that supports what has made and still makes Navy.”

While the Maribyrnong artefacts will be rotated through the museum display in the future centre, they will also fit into the Navy’s larger collection that is spread around the various Maritime and RAN Museums that are administered by Navy Heritage.

“The high priority Navy places on conserving its past and sharing it with the public is reflected in the large size of its collection,” CMDR Moore said.

“The RANHC will emphasise the technological development of the RAN over the last 100 years.”

The new centre is scheduled to open at Garden Island in Sydney next year.

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