HMAS Kuttabul and Garden Island

Located at Potts Point in Sydney, HMAS Kuttabul provides administrative, training and logistics support to Defence personnel within the Sydney area. Kuttabul is the administrative centre for Fleet Base East, and overlooks Garden Island, which has strong links to Australia’s maritime history and which is home to Australia’s only large ship graving dock.

Crowds on the wharf of Fleet Base East during the Fleet Base East open day as part of Navy Week 2025.

Early history of Garden Island

From the arrival of the first fleet in 1788, Garden Island was identified as a suitable location for a vegetable garden which could be used to feed and supplement the diet of a ship’s company. In February 1788, use of the island was granted to the crew of HMS Sirius who immediately began working to clear space for a garden. It was this early agricultural pursuit which would eventually result in Garden Island becoming its official name. Prior to white settlement, the island was known to the local Aboriginal people as Bayingawuwa (Ba-ing-hoe).[i]

While Garden Island was originally used for the purposes of growing produce, it was eventually recognised as an ideal site for a naval depot. It had a number of natural features which made it well suited for the purpose, including:

being situated close enough to the mainland so it could be connected to it by causeway
having several good anchorages
ideal geography for careening (cleaning and repairing) ships
quick access to Bradley’s Head, the open sea and main harbour channels
ideally positioned to accommodate a battery of guns, forts and emplacements
rocky outcrops which would allow for the construction of underground tunnels and magazines.

These features saw Garden Island selected for naval purposes in preference to other available sites in Port Jackson, including those such as Cockatoo and Spectacle Islands, both of which were later used by Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

In 1865, as the need for a naval presence in the colony of New South Wales increased, Garden Island was officially dedicated for use as a naval depot. By the turn of the century, Garden Island was also home to a dockyard and other maritime facilities, cementing its place in Australia’s naval history.

Following the establishment of the Commonwealth Naval Forces in March 1901, the ships and personnel formerly in the colonial navies were transferred to the Commonwealth. Then in 1913, the RAN welcomed its first fleet unit and the use of Garden Island was officially handed over from the Admiralty to the Commonwealth.

Attached to Garden Island as a depot ship was the former survey ship HMS Penguin (I). It had been refitted for the purpose of officer accommodation in 1908 and was later moored off the island, after which time the Garden Island establishment was commissioned as HMAS Penguin.

Throughout the First World War, Garden Island remained an important asset for allied navies. Some 852 vessels used the island over the course of the conflict, with many ships being refitted, repaired and supplied there. By the end of the First World War, more than 3000 men were working on the island.

Garden Island during the Second World War

In 1939, following the outbreak of the Second World War, the Commonwealth resumed use of Garden Island, taking it over from the New South Wales state government under wartime regulations.

The workforce on the island more than tripled throughout the war, during which time expansions were made to facilities on the island, including construction of:

a graving dock
new workshops and buildings
wharfs with cranes,
a guardhouse
air raid shelter
post office
stores
a diesel generating plant.

Garden Island became a hub for wartime industry. Within the first 9 months of the war, 5 vessels were converted to armed merchant cruisers, while 9 smaller vessels were converted to warships. Some 20 refits were completed along with the fitting out of 12 large liners for use as transport vessels and the fitting out of a naval store-issuing ship and 2 fleet auxiliaries.

The production of naval armaments was another significant aspect of wartime industry on Garden Island. More than 100 merchant ships were defensively equipped there, while two types of the 4-inch Mark XVI naval gun and their mountings were also made at Garden Island.

Captain Cook Graving Dock

Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, it was anticipated that a dry dock would be needed to ensure major ship repairs could be carried out in Australia. In early 1939 the Commonwealth Government engaged the services of English consultant Sir Leopold Saville to inspect various sites for the construction of a graving dock. His report was completed in March 1940, and it recommended that a graving dock be built in Sydney Harbour between Garden Island and Potts Point. The War Cabinet accepted and approved Saville’s recommendation, and the project commenced that same year with the construction of the coffer dam, also known as the ‘Burma Road’.

Building the dam required the reclamation of 30 acres of land. It resulted in Garden Island being joined to the mainland in what was a significant feat of engineering for its time. The dam was completed in early February 1942, shortly before the fall of Singapore.

The loss of Singapore deprived the allies of access to its graving dock, while Japanese expansion throughout the region led to an increase in overall naval activity in Sydney Harbour. These factors greatly increased the need for the dry dock facilities in Australia to be completed quickly so they could be made available for the use of allied forces.

Work on the graving dock continued throughout the Second World War. Once completed, it could accommodate 4 destroyers at once. It was officially opened by the Governor-General, the Duke of Gloucester, on 24 March 1945. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the dock would be a 'buttress of the naval power on which Australia’s safety will continue in large measure to depend, as well as a great commercial asset to the Commonwealth.'[1]

Known as the Captain Cook Graving Dock, its facilities became an important addition to naval operations on Garden Island. Many repairs to allied vessels were carried out at the dock through to the end of the war, including on the British aircraft carrier HMS Formidable, which had been damaged in a Kamikaze attack off Okinawa in May 1945. The dock still serves an important purpose today, providing dry-dock facilities for RAN ships as well as foreign vessels, while having also been recognised as an engineering landmark.

WRANS on Garden Island

In April 1941, the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) was established to allow women to undertake roles within the Navy and release men for combat roles. Women who joined the service were often known simply as ‘Wrans’ and undertook work as:

sick berth attendants
cooks
transport drivers
stewardesses
shore-based communications roles in signals intelligence and wireless telegraphy.

Many early Wrans had been taught by Florence 'Mrs Mac' Mackenzie as members of the Women’s Emergency Signals Corps (WESC), and by March 1943 there were more than 230 Wrans serving in New South Wales across 3 main bases including HMAS Penguin, HMAS Kuttabul and HMAS Rushcutter. At Garden Island, the Wrans mainly undertook watch keeping duties as well as signals and communications work. While not permitted to serve in ships, they were sometimes responsible for taking small boats out to deliver messages and signals to ships in Sydney Harbour. By July 1944, over 100 Wrans were attached to HMAS Kuttabul and living in quarters at Potts Point, opposite Garden Island.

Attack on Sydney Harbour

On the night of 31 May 1942, 3 Japanese miniature submarines attempted to enter Sydney Harbour. At the time, the harbour was sheltering a number of vessels including US Ships Chicago, Perkins and Dobbin, HMA ships Canberra, Adelaide, Kanimbla, Westralia, Whyalla, Geelong and Bungaree, HMIS Bombay, the Dutch submarine HMNS K9 and the depot ship Kuttabul, which was alongside on the south east corner of Garden Island.

At the beginning of the attack, one of the miniature submarines became stuck in the only partially-finished boom net, which had been woven on Garden Island. The net was at the entrance to Sydney Harbour between Georges Head and Green Point, and had been placed there to protect against attacks by enemy vessels. Unable to free themselves, the first crew chose to destroy their submarine, losing their lives in the process.

The 2 remaining submarines evaded the net and successfully penetrated the harbour. These were soon spotted, the alarm was raised and measures to secure the harbour, including the dimming of dockyard lights, were quickly taken. One of the 2 submarines was destroyed by depth charges, while another came within 200 metres of Garden Island and fired 2 torpedos, likely targeting the American heavy cruiser USS Chicago.

Both torpedos missed their intended target. One ran ashore on Garden Island and remained intact. The other hit the seabed and exploded. The impact sunk the depot ship Kuttabul. Twenty-one allied sailors lost their lives as a result. While further damage to other ships and harbour infrastructure was avoided, the attack represented the first time that Sydney had come under direct threat from the enemy during the Second World War. Having narrowly avoided a major disaster, the boom net was quickly completed and further measures taken to fortify defences along Australia’s coast.

USS Chicago

The Northampton class heavy cruiser, USS Chicago saw service in the Pacific during the Second World War and was present in Sydney Harbour on the night of the miniature submarine attack in 1942. Chicago joined the newly formed Anzac Squadron (later Task Force 44) in 1942 and spent March and April in waters off New Guinea, covering the attacks on Lae and Salamaua before assisting with the arrival of American troops on New Caledonia, which became an important Allied base.

Throughout early May, Chicago supported USS Yorktown during an attack against Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands. It then intercepted the Japanese Port Moresby invasion group, and the ship suffered several casualties as a result of enemy air attacks. In late May, Chicago was moored just to the north east of Garden Island in Sydney Harbour when Japanese miniature submarines attacked.

Sailors on the ship’s deck were among those to spot the presence of submarines in the harbour, and opened fire on the enemy vessels below. Chicago was the likely target of two torpedos fired by one of the submarines, however both missed, leaving the heavy cruiser unharmed.

After leaving Sydney Harbour, Chicago continued to support operations in the South West Pacific, including landings on both Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. During the battle of Savo Island, Chicago was damaged by a torpedo fired from a Japanese destroyer.

On the morning of 27 January 1943, Chicago was again hit by enemy torpedos during the battle of Rennel Island. That afternoon, while being towed by USS Louisville, Chicago was attacked again and was struck by 4 torpedos causing the ship to sink with the loss of 62 lives.

HMAS Kuttabul

The steam ferry SS Kuttabul was built at Walsh Island Shipyard in Newcastle in 1922. Owned by Sydney Ferries, Kuttabul, and vessel of the same class Koompartoo, could carry over 2000 passengers. They were predominantly used to work the Milsons Point route. In 1932, following the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Kuttabul was removed from use as a transport ferry, although it was sometimes used for tourism purposes, including moonlight concert cruises on the harbour.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, many peace-time vessels were requisitioned by the RAN to support the war effort and fulfil additional duties as needed. Kuttabul, then out of regular use as a ferry, was among those chosen for this purpose and was handed over to the RAN on 7 November 1940. In February 1941, Kuttabul replaced HMAS Penguin (III) as the depot ship at Garden Island. Prior to the arrival of Kuttabul, depot ships at Garden Island had traditionally been named Penguin.

HMS Penguin (I) was formerly a Royal Navy survey ship. It served as the Garden Island depot ship between 1909 and 1923 and lent its name to the naval establishment based on the island.
HMAS Penguin (II) was formerly the light cruiser HMAS Encounter. Encounter was renamed Penguin (II) and replaced Penguin (I) as the depot ship at Garden Island from 1923, before being paid off in 1929.
HMAS Penguin (III) was formerly the fleet repair ship HMAS Platypus. Platypus replaced HMAS Penguin (II) as the Garden Island depot ship in 1929 and was renamed Penguin (III) in keeping with the tradition of the island. In February 1941, the ship was recommissioned HMAS Platypus and returned to sea service. Kuttabul was its replacement.

Following the attack on Sydney Harbour and the loss of 21 lives on board Kuttabul in May 1942, it was decided to rename the base at Garden Island in its honour. It was commissioned HMAS Kuttabul on 1 January 1943, and has retained this name ever since. The former name HMAS Penguin, traditionally used at Garden Island, was instead passed on to the RAN depot at Balmoral which was commissioned HMAS Penguin (IV) on 14 July 1942.

Today, HMAS Kuttabul continues the long legacy of naval history at Garden Island. It is the primary base for more than half of the major fleet units of the RAN as well as the Commander Australian Fleet, and is the home port for 14 Australian vessels. Kuttabul supports personnel working at Fleet Base East and is home to Fleet Support Unit Sydney (FSU-S), which is the RAN’s uniformed maintenance activity ashore.

Training and mentoring is also offered through the Skills Development Centre, where the newly trained technicians from the Navy's initial training pipeline undertake consolidation training and competency progression. Accommodation and mess facilities are also available at HMAS Kuttabul for personnel working at Fleet Base East, as well as for those in transit and waiting for their ship to come alongside.

For more information visit: HMAS Kuttabul | Royal Australian Navy