HMAS Harman

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A member of the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service at HMAS Harman in 1941. Harman was the first unit where women served as part of the RAN.

Crest of HMAS Harman

HMAS Harman provides Navy administrative functions to all Navy personnel located in the Canberra area (Australian Capital Territory and southern New South Wales).

Harman started as the RAN Wireless/Transmitting Station Canberra, commencing operations on 20 April 1939. HMAS Harman was commissioned on 1 July 1943 with Commander McLachlan as the first Commanding Officer. During World War II, Harman provided communications services for ships of the allied navies working in the Pacific region.

1 Bonshaw Receiving Station
2 Belconnen Naval Transmitting Station
3 Modern history
4 External links

[edit] Bonshaw Receiving Station

About 3km to the west of the main Harman complex was the Bonshaw receiving Station, in which watchkeepers listened for messages from ships on the High Frequency bands. This area was designated as a radio quiet zone.

[edit] Belconnen Naval Transmitting Station

About 20km north-west of Harman, the Belconnen Naval Transmitting Station was a sub-unit that maintained the corresponding HF and Low Frequency transmitting equipment, including the three iconic 600 foot masts of the 250kW 44kHz transmitter. The station was equipped with 40kW and 10kW HF transmitters that used a variety of antennas including rhombic, vertical monopole, and log-periodic antennas.

The transmitter site was surrounded by an alarmed wire fence that effectively allowed the free breeding of a mob of kangaroos.

The station was initially built with small cottages flanking the eastern side of the site, housing the electrical engineer in charge and the sailors who maintained the transmitters and antennas. These were removed in the late 1980s, although the mess building remained, with personnel moving into housing in the growing suburbs that gradually encroached on the site.

The station ended transmissions on 1 June 2005; the 44kHz transmitter had been silent for several years before that.

In December 2006, the Defence Department, after objections from former Naval staff who worked at the base, demolished the three vertical transmission antennas and remaining buildings. However because of extensive environmental damage resulting from the use of toxic chemicals to maintain the communications hardware onsite, it is unlikely the site will be redeveloped in the near future.