Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Royal Australian Naval College Magazine, Fifteenth Number
Royal Australian Naval College Magazine, Fifteenth Number

Royal Australian Naval College Magazine, Fifteenth Number

Printer
DateDecember 1927
Object number00055447
NameMagazine
MediumPaper
DimensionsOverall: 242 × 187 × 2 mm
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Robert Murphy
DescriptionAn issue of the Royal Australian Naval College Magazine, Fifteenth Number, December 1927. Included in this issue of the magazine are a review of the year’s events at the college, an account of a visit to Tucopea by HMAS ADELAIDE, and article on marine snakes, poetry and extensive sporting results for the year.HistoryCaptain's Point on Jervis Bay was selected by Australia's Parliament as the site of the Royal Australian Naval College (RANC) on 7 November 1911. Construction of the main college buildings was completed in early 1915, and the facility opened on 10 February of that year. In 1930, the RANC moved to Flinders Naval Depot in Victoria as a cost-saving measure driven by the effects of the Great Depression. During this period, the facility's buildings were leased as hotels and guesthouses, although the Royal Australian Navy retained use of those along the waterfront, as well as some housing for married naval personnel. In the early 1950s it became clear that Flinders Naval Depot was becoming overcrowded; consequently, the Australian government decided to relocate the RANC to its original site at Jervis Bay in 1956. The RANC reopened at Jervis Bay in January 1958 and the installation was commissioned HMAS Creswell after Vice Admiral Sir William Creswell, KCMG, KBE.SignificanceThis issue of the RANC Magazine is significant due to its association with the earliest years of the Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), Australia's authority for the basic and leadership training of officers for service in the Royal Australian Navy. Often nicknamed the 'Cradle of Australia's Navy', the facility has, since its inception, produced some of the nation's most notable naval leaders in both peace and war. The magazine issue is notable because it shows the installation shortly after it was established, and features articles that detail daily life and events. Images from this period in the RANC's history are very rare, and the fact that some are featured in the magazine make it even more significant.