Australia Station
Encyclopedia
The Australia Station was the British—and later Australian—naval command responsible for the waters around the Australia
n continent.
, ships based in Australian waters came under the control of the East Indies Squadron
of the Royal Navy
and from the 1820s, a ship was sent annually to New South Wales
, and occasionally to New Zealand
.
In 1848, an Australian Division of the East Indies Station was established. However in 1859 the British Admiralty established an independent command, the Australia Station, under the command of a commodore
who was assigned as Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station. This decision was partially in recognition of the fact that a large part of the East Indies Station had been detached to Australian waters, while also reflecting growing concern for the strategic situation in the western Pacific in general, and in Tahiti
and New Zealand in particular. Ships serving on the Station were assigned to the Australian Squadron
. In 1884 the station was upgraded to a rear admiral
's command.
At its establishment, the Australia Station encompassed Australia and New Zealand, with its eastern boundary including Samoa and Tonga, its western edge in the Indian Ocean, south of India and its southern edge defined by the Antarctic Circle
. The boundaries were modified in 1864, 1872, 1893, and 1908. At its largest, the Australia Station reached from the Equator to the Antarctic in its greatest north-south axis, and covered one quarter of the Southern Hemisphere in its extreme east-west dimension, including Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Melanesia and Polynesia.
In 1913, the Australian Squadron was disbanded, and responsibility for the Station was handed over to the new Royal Australian Navy
, at which time it covered Australia and its island dependencies to the north and east. At the same time it was reduced to exclude New Zealand and from then until 1921, when a separate New Zealand Station
was established, New Zealand and its surrounds were part of the China Station
. In 1958 the Australia Station was redrawn again, no longer including New Zealand but now including Papua New Guinea.
officers who occupied the post of Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n continent.
History
In the early years following the establishment of the colony of New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, ships based in Australian waters came under the control of the East Indies Squadron
East Indies Station
The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and from the 1820s, a ship was sent annually to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, and occasionally to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
In 1848, an Australian Division of the East Indies Station was established. However in 1859 the British Admiralty established an independent command, the Australia Station, under the command of a commodore
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
who was assigned as Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station. This decision was partially in recognition of the fact that a large part of the East Indies Station had been detached to Australian waters, while also reflecting growing concern for the strategic situation in the western Pacific in general, and in Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
and New Zealand in particular. Ships serving on the Station were assigned to the Australian Squadron
Australian Squadron
The Australian Squadron was the name given to the British naval force assigned to the Australia Station from 1859 to 1911.The Squadron was initially a small force of Royal Navy warships based in Sydney, and although intended to protect the colonies of Australia and New Zealand, the ships were...
. In 1884 the station was upgraded to a rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
's command.
At its establishment, the Australia Station encompassed Australia and New Zealand, with its eastern boundary including Samoa and Tonga, its western edge in the Indian Ocean, south of India and its southern edge defined by the Antarctic Circle
Antarctic Circle
The Antarctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs south of the Equator.-Description:...
. The boundaries were modified in 1864, 1872, 1893, and 1908. At its largest, the Australia Station reached from the Equator to the Antarctic in its greatest north-south axis, and covered one quarter of the Southern Hemisphere in its extreme east-west dimension, including Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Melanesia and Polynesia.
In 1913, the Australian Squadron was disbanded, and responsibility for the Station was handed over to the new Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
, at which time it covered Australia and its island dependencies to the north and east. At the same time it was reduced to exclude New Zealand and from then until 1921, when a separate New Zealand Station
New Zealand Station
The New Zealand Station or New Zealand Squadron was the British naval command responsible for the waters around New Zealand. The station was created on 1 January 1921 after being split from the China Station. The Commodore's appointment was abolished and forces brought directly under the NZ CNS...
was established, New Zealand and its surrounds were part of the China Station
China Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
. In 1958 the Australia Station was redrawn again, no longer including New Zealand but now including Papua New Guinea.
Commanders-in-Chief, Australia Station
The following is a list of the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officers who occupied the post of Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station.
| Rank | Name | Term began | Term ended | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station | ||||
| Commodore Commodore (Royal Navy) Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:... |
William Loring | 26 March 1859 | 10 March 1860 | |
| Commodore | Beauchamp Seymour Beauchamp Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester Admiral Frederick Beauchamp Paget Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester, GCB was a British naval commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet between 1874 and 1877 and of the Mediterranean Fleet between 1880 and 1883.... |
10 March 1860 | 21 July 1862 | |
| Commodore | William Burnett William Farquharson Burnett Commodore William Farquharson Burnett, CB was a senior officer in the Royal Navy.-Naval career:Burnett was appointed a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1838. Promoted to Captain in 1854, he commanded Tortoise, he served as Governor of Ascension from 1858 until 1861... |
21 July 1862 | 7 February 1863 | |
| Commodore | William Wiseman Sir William Wiseman, 8th Baronet Rear Admiral Sir William Saltonstall Wiseman, 8th Baronet KCB was a British naval officer.- Naval career :... |
20 April 1863 | 23 May 1866 | |
| Commodore | Rochfort Maguire Rochfort Maguire Commodore Rochfort Maguire was a Royal Navy officer who served as Captain of HMS Plover from 1852 to 1853 during the Franklin Search Expedition.-Biography:... |
23 May 1866 | 28 May 1867 | |
| Commodore | Rowley Lambert Rowley Lambert Vice Admiral Rowley Lambert, CB was a senior officer in the Royal Navy.-Naval career:Born the son of Admiral Sir George Lambert, Rowley was appointed a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1848. He served in the Black Sea during the Crimean war. Promoted to Captain in 1855, he was given command of HMS... |
28 May 1867 | 8 April 1870 | |
| Commodore | Frederick Stirling Frederick Stirling Vice Admiral Frederick Henry Stirling was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station. He was a son of Admiral Sir James Stirling, the first Governor of Western Australia and Ellen Mangles.... |
8 April 1870 | 22 May 1873 | |
| Commodore | James Goodenough James Graham Goodenough Captain James Graham Goodenough CB CMG was an officer in the Royal Navy who went to become Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station.-Naval career:... |
22 May 1873 | 20 August 1875 | |
| Commodore | Anthony Hoskins Anthony Hoskins Admiral Sir Anthony Hiley Hoskins GCB , was a British naval officer who was First Naval Lord from 1891 to 1893.-Naval career:Educated at Winchester College, Hoskins entered the Royal Navy in 1842... |
7 September 1875 | 12 September 1878 | |
| Commodore | John Wilson John Wilson (Royal Navy officer) Rear Admiral John Crawford Wilson was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station.-Early life:Wilson was born in 1834 to James Wilson and Margret Wilson . He was the tenth of 12 children.... |
12 September 1878 | 21 January 1882 | |
| Commodore | James Erskine | 21 January 1882 | 12 November 1884 | |
| Rear Admiral Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"... |
George Tryon George Tryon Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, KCB was a British admiral who died when his flagship HMS Victoria collided with HMS Camperdown during manoeuvres off Tripoli, Lebanon.-Early life:... |
12 November 1884 | 1 February 1887 | |
| Rear Admiral | Henry Fairfax | 1 February 1887 | 10 September 1889 | |
| Rear Admiral | Lord Charles Montagu Douglas Scott | 10 September 1889 | 12 September 1892 | |
| Rear Admiral | Nathaniel Bowden-Smith Nathaniel Bowden-Smith |-... |
12 September 1892 | 1 November 1894 | |
| Rear Admiral | Cyprian Bridge Cyprian Bridge Admiral Sir Cyprian Arthur George Bridge GCB was a British Royal Navy officer towards the end of the era of Pax Britannica. He was Commander-in-chief of both the Australian Squadron and the China Squadron.-Early life:... |
1 November 1894 | 1 November 1897 | |
| Rear Admiral | Hugo Pearson Hugo Pearson Admiral Sir Hugo Lewis Pearson KCB was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.-Naval career:... |
1 November 1898 | 1 October 1900 | |
| Rear Admiral | Sir Lewis Beaumont Lewis Beaumont Admiral Sir Lewis Anthony Beaumont KCB KCMG was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.-Naval career:Beaumont joined the Royal Navy as a boy and was engaged in operations in Malaya by 1875.... |
1 October 1900 | 10 November 1902 | |
| Vice Admiral Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral... |
Sir Arthur Fanshawe Arthur Dalrymple Fanshawe Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Dalrymple Fanshawe GCB GCVO was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.-Naval career:... |
10 November 1902 | 10 September 1905 | |
| Vice Admiral | Sir Wilmot Fawkes Wilmot Fawkes |-|-|-... |
10 September 1905 | 31 December 1907 | |
| Vice Admiral | Sir Richard Poore Sir Richard Poore, 4th Baronet |-|-... |
31 December 1907 | 31 December 1910 | |
| Vice Admiral | Sir George King-Hall George King-Hall Admiral Sir George Fowler King–Hall KCB, CVO was a senior officer of the Royal Navy.King-Hall was born on 14 August 1850 as the second surviving son of Admiral William King-Hall and Louisa Forman... |
31 December 1910 | 23 June 1913 | |
See also
- List of fleets and major commands of the Royal Navy
- List of ships assigned to the Australian Squadron (Royal Navy)