HMAS Watson

HMAS Watson is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base on Sydney Harbour at South Head, near Watsons Bay, New South Wales. Commissioned in 1945 (after three years operating as HMAS Radar), the base served as the RAN's radar training school. In 1956, torpedo and anti-submarine warfare training were relocated to the base, and by 2011, Watson was the main maritime warfare training base, as well as providing post-entry education for Seaman Officers, training for Combat System sailors, and command training.

History

The base's name comes from its location at Watsons Bay, which in turn was named after Robert Watson, the quartermaster of HMS Sirius, a ship of the First Fleet. In 1801, Governor Philip King granted Watson land at South Head, where he settled. Watson later becoming boatswain, senior harbour pilot and harbourmaster of the new colony. In 1818, Governor Lachlan Macquarie commissioned the "Macquarie Lighthouse" appointing Watson as the first superintendent of the lighthouse. Today, the Macquarie Lighthouse is depicted in the centre of the crest of HMS Watson.