Williamstown Dockyard

Williamstown Dockyard was one of Australia's principal ship building yards at Williamstown, Victoria, Australia.

The Colony of Victoria decided to construct a large slipway at Williamstown to provide ship repair facilities in 1856 and the Government Patent Slip was opened in 1858. Slip Pier was built in 1858 and was used in conjunction with the Government Patent Slip. The Slip Pier was later known as the Lady Loch Jetty after the similarly named Government steamer. The pier and Government Patent Slipway were demolished in 1919.

In 1858, the Colony of Victoria decided to build a graving dock and dockyard. Construction commenced in 1868, and was completed in February 1874. The Alfred Graving Dock, named after Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, was built at a cost of £300,000. The graving dock was 143 metres (469 ft) in length, 24 metres (79 ft) wide, 8 metres (26 ft) deep. The dock was designed by William Wardell for the Public Works Department (Victoria), and it was the largest structure of its type in the southern hemisphere.^{[1] [2]}

The Dockyard Pier, originally known as Dock Pier was constructed in 1874 for use with vessels engaged in pre/post docking in the Alfred Graving Dock. In the 1870s, the railway department contracted for the construction of a new pier to meet increased demand imposed by wool and later grain handling. When completed in 1878, it was initially referred to as the Western Pier, but was later renamed New Railway Pier. It was rebuilt in 1915 and 1927 and was renamed Nelson Pier in 1923. The pier and surrounding land was purchased by the Commonwealth in 1967, and use of the facility declined. Demolition work began in 1979 due to its poor condition. Nelsons Pier West was constructed in 1978 to replace the nearby Nelson Pier. It provided two cranes and two berths for the refitting and outfitting of warships. Reid St Pier was constructed for the Melbourne Harbour Trust for exclusive use with its own floating plant in September 1891. It was later used to house the tug fleet, and was rebuilt in 1949.

In 1913, the dockyard was known as the State Shipbuilding Yard and was requestioned in 1918 by the Commonwealth. Ownership passed to the Melbourne Harbor Trust in 1924 and during World War II it was requestioned by the Commonwealth in 1942 and was known as HM Naval Dockyard Williamstown, or Williamstown Naval Dockyard. In 1987 it passed into private control of Tenix Defence and then acquired by BAE Systems Australia.

Vessels constructed at Williamstown Dockyard

Name	Type	Class	Completed	Notes
HMAS Anzac (D59)	Destroyer	Battle	1951
HMAS Anzac (FFH 150)	Frigate	Anzac	1996
HMAS Arunta (FFH 151)	Frigate	Anzac	1998
HMAS Ballarat (J184)	Corvette	Bathurst	1941
HMAS Ballarat (FFH 155)	Frigate	Anzac	2004
HMAS Benalla (J323)	Corvette	Bathurst	1943
HMAS Castlemaine (J244)	Corvette	Bathurst	1942	Preserved as museum ship in Williamstown, 600m from the slipway where she was constructed.
HMAS Cook (A 219)	Survey Vessel		1980
AV Crusader (AV2767)	Army Cargo Ship		1945
HMAS Culgoa (K408)	Frigate	Bay	1945
HMAS Derwent (DE 49)	Destroyer Escort	River	1964
HMAS Echuca (J252)	Corvette	Bathurst	1942	Transfered to RNZN on 5 March 1952, and served as HMNZS Echuca.
HMAS Flinders (A 312)	Survey Vessel		1973
HMAS Geelong (J201)	Corvette	Bathurst	1942	Sank on 18 October 1944, after colliding with a tanker north of New Guinea. No lives were lost.
HMAS Horsham (J235)	Corvette	Bathurst	1942
HMAS Kooronga	Tug		1924
HMAS Melbourne (FFG 05)	Frigate	Adelaide	1992
HMAS Newcastle (FFG 06)	Frigate	Adelaide	1994
HMNZS Otago (P148)	Offshore Patrol Vessel	Protector	2010
HMAS Parramatta (FFH 154)	Frigate	Anzac	2003
HMAS Perth (FFH 157)	Frigate	Anzac	2006
HMAS Shepparton (J248)	Corvette	Bathurst	1943
HMAS Stawell (J348)	Corvette	Bathurst	1943	Transfered to RNZN on 5 March 1952, and served as HMNZS Stawell.
HMAS Stuart (FFH 153)	Frigate	Anzac	2002
HMAS Swan (DE 50)	Destroyer Escort	River	1970
TRV Tailor (803)	Torpedo Recovery Vessel		1971
HMNZS Te Kaha (F77)	Frigate	Anzac	1997
HMNZS Te Mana (F111)	Frigate	Anzac	1999
HMAS Toowoomba (FFH 156)	Frigate	Anzac	2005
TRV Trevally (802)	Torpedo Recovery Vessel		1971
TRV Tuna (801)	Torpedo Recovery Vessel		1971
HMAS Vendetta (D08)	Destroyer	Daring	1958
HMAS Warramunga (FFH 152)	Frigate	Anzac	2001
HMNZS Wellington (P55)	Offshore Patrol Vessel	Protector	2010
HMAS Yarra (DE 45)	Destroyer Escort	River	1961

References

1. ^ Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H0697
2. ^ National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Register File B65993

• Victorian Heritage Register Accessed on 9 Nov 2010
• National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Register Accessed on 9 Nov 2010

External Links

• Alfred Graving Dock

Coordinates: 37°51′50″S 144°54′41″E / 37.86389°S 144.91139°E / -37.86389; 144.91139