Category: Colonial Naval Forces, Australia

From 1788 to 1859, vessels of the Royal Navy made frequent trips to the new British Colonies around the Australian continent. In 1859, the Australia Station was formed as a separate squadron and remained in Australia until 1913. Until Federation, five of the six Australian colonies operated their own colonial naval force, which formed on 1st March 1901 the Australian Navy's (AN) Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy (RAN). On 4th October 1913 the new replacement fleet for the foundation fleet of 1901 steamed through Sydney Heads for the first time. The Australia Squadron sent ships to the Boer War in South Africa and the Boxer Rebellion in China. Rear Admiral George Tryon commanded the Australia Station 1884-87, being created KCB for his efforts encouraging a unified naval defence of Australia.