HMAS Stirling

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Garden Island (HMAS Stirling)
IATA: N/A - ICAO: YGAD
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		RAN
Serves		Rockingham, Western Australia
Elevation AMSL		30 ft (10 m)
Coordinates		32°14′30″S, 115°41′00″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
05/23	1,373	450	Asphalt

HMAS Stirling (32°13′33″S, 115°41′24″E) is the name given to the administrative centre of the Royal Australian Navy's main naval base on the west coast (Fleet Base West), located on Garden Island just off the Western Australian coast near the city of Perth.

1 History
- 1.1 Garden Island
- 1.2 Ship Stationed
2 External links

[edit] History

The name HMAS Stirling was selected to honour Captain James Stirling, Royal Navy, the naval officer who landed on Garden Island in 1827 and returned in June, 1829 to found the first European settlement in Western Australia.

The planning of Stirling began in 1969 when, after it was decided to create the Two Ocean Policy, a feasibility study into the use of Garden Island as a naval base was begun. The 4.2 kilometre causeway linking the island with the mainland was completed in June 1973. Construction of the wharves and workshops began in early 1973 and accommodation in 1975 with the facility, including the new Fleet Base West, being formally commissioned on July 28, 1978.

The first major unit to call Fleet Base West home was HMAS Stuart (F 21/DE 48), having first been assigned to Stirling in 1984 for several years and, after refitting in the east, again in 1988 until decommisioning in 1991.

Stirling has expanded enormously within its existing boundaries and has seen building such as the Submarine Escape Training Facility – one of only six in the world and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere. Stirling is home to all 6 of the Collins class submarines that are used by the RAN.

[edit] Garden Island

Garden Island is 10km in length, 1.5 km long and is 1300 hectares, Stirling occupies approximately 28% of that area. The remaining portion of the Island is nature reserve, the navy has been active in the removal of introduced flora and fauna species. The island has its own quarantine conditions which prohibit bringing of plants and animals to the island.^[1]