Wednesday 12 January 2011

Garden Island is a naval base

Type 277 was and 'S' band height-finding radar, which was fitted to both Sydney III and Melbourne II
The name is misleading - pretty, but misleading. In the very early days of white settlement, like for the month of February 1788, this island tried to be a garden. But it failed. They forgot that soil is required. They sent naval lieutenants out to do a farmer's job.

Left: Thuis is the propeller from a River Class Frigate, 8 of which were constructed brom 1943 - 1946. They were twin screw vessels with a speed of 20 knots. This propeller weighs 5 tons and is made of bronze.
Right: This is the spare bow anchor from HMAS Melbourne II which was decommissioned in 1982. It was involved in the infamous Voyager collision in 1964.
So the navy took over the peninsula, and eventually expanded that to include the island. The 'island' is the pubic access area. It has the oldest piece of colonial graffiti. But is is weather-worn, and a major let-down. Go out there for the views, and for some pretty nifty naval memorabilia.

'The Boatshed' was shipped pre-fabricaed in 1896 and erected using wedges instead of nails. It is now part of the museum.

11 comments:

Luis Gomez said...

Thanks for posting this Julie. I always wondered about it and never went to check the Garden Island out.

Kay L. Davies said...

So interesting, Julie. I love "The Boatshed" and the fact that it was prefabricated. Oh, the things I'd build if I could.
The clock tower behind it is beautiful, too. A very interesting post, at least to me.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Jim said...

Interesting monuments.

Heidi said...

Hello Julie, I just came across your blog and I love it. Your photos are so beautiful. I am looking forward to your future postings. Greetings from the US...Heidi

Ann said...

So that's what you were trying to do in that first shot. As usual I have same things but taken quite differently. You also read the information signs.

Julie said...

I photograph the information signs. For 'ron.

Peter said...

love the boatshed and the clocktower behind

Joan Elizabeth said...

I do that too ... photograph the information signs. We must go out on a photo shoot together one day ... I'd like to see the differences in what we each collect.

Unknown said...

I'm very fond of propellers, I think their shapes are so beautiful. Great location for that one.

Sue McGettigan said...

Funny, Perth has a Garden Island, and it too is a naval base - wonder if 'garden' is naval code for 'top secret'??

Julie said...

*smile* indeed, I wonder. I spent virtual time in Perth this afternoon when that young man was pinned with his VC. Very emotional.

Was a bit put out by Stephen Smith claiming him for WA. Not keen on how this line of thought is developing.