Shoal Bay Receiving Station

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Shoal Bay Receiving Station is a signals intelligence-gathering station, located on the shores of the Shoal Bay Gulf, 17km from Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory. The site is nominally run by the Royal Australian Navy, but is staffed by a combination of Navy, Army and Defence Signals Directorate personnel[1].

One of the major purposes of the station has been to intercept and monitor Indonesian satellite communications and gather intelligence on the activities of the Indonesian military[2]. The station was a major source of intelligence on the role played by the Indonesian Military and associated militia groups in the violence in East Timor following the 1999 Referendum of Independence[3]. The site may also have intercepted conversions regarding the planned murder of Australian journalists in East Timor by the Indonesian miliary, in 1975, prior to the killings taking place[4].

The site is suspected to be a part of the US SIGINT network ECHELON, and is operated under the UKUSA Agreement.