HMAS Australia (1911)

HMAS "Australia" was one of three "Indefatigable" class battlecruisers built for the defence of the British Empire. Launched in 1911, "Australia" was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as flagship in 1913, and is the only capital ship to serve in the RAN,

"Australia" served in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans during World War I. She became the first battlecruiser to carry and launch an aircraft in 1918, and on her return to Australia after the war in 1919, several of the crew abandoned their posts in an abortive mutiny.

"Australia" was scuttled with her armament in 1921, as part of the British Empire's compliance conditions with the Washington Naval Treaty.

Construction and acquisition

"Australia" was laid down by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland on 26 June 1910. She was launched on 25 October 1911 by Lady Reid, wife of Sir George Reid, the Australian High Commissioner in London and former Prime Minister of Australia.

The battlecruiser was completed and commissioned into the RAN at Portsmouth on 21 June 1913 as the navy's flagship. On 21 July 1913, she departed for her namesake country in company with HMAS "Sydney".cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/HMAS_Australia_%28I%29|title=HMAS Australia (I)|accessdaymonth=18 September |accessyear=2008 |work=HMA Ship Histories |publisher=Sea Power Centre - Royal Australian Navy] The ships arrived in Sydney on 4 October 1913, after a diplomatic visit to South Africa.

"Australia" is the only capital ship to serve in the RAN.

Operational history

During her first year of service, "Australia" visited major ports along the south and east coastlines, in order to show the pride of the RAN to the public.

World War I

At the start of World War I, "Australia" was deployed to find and attack the German East Asia Squadron, the only Central Powers naval force in the Pacific. The squadron's commander, Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee, was wary of "Australia", which he described as being superior to his squadron.Fact|date=August 2008 The German squadron fled towards South America and exited the Pacific, and was later destroyed in December 1914 by a British squadron at the Battle of the Falkland Islands.Fact|date=August 2008

Towards the end of 1914, "Australia" provided escort for Allied forces engaged in seizing Germany's Pacific colonies, including the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force at Rabaul.

At the end of 1914, "Australia" was ordered to join the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron at Rosyth, Scotland. She arrived at Plymouth on 28 January 1915, and was made flagship of the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron on 8 February 1915.

As part of the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron, "Australia" carried out a series of patrols into the North Sea. However, she did not engage the German Navy at any time, and did not participate in the Battle of Jutland, following a collision with sister ship HMS "New Zealand" in heavy fog on 22 April 1916, which saw her out of service until 9 June. After returning to service, "Australia" resumed the duties of flagship of the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron until the end of the war.

In March and May 1918, "Australia" was used for experiments with ship-bourne aircraft. On 8 March, a Sopwith 1½ Strutter biplane was launched from a platform mounted over one of the battlecruiser's 12-inch turrets; the first ever launching of an aircraft from a battlecruiser.

On 21 November 1918, "Australia" was present at the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet, and was tasked with specifically guarding the German battlecruiser SMS "Hindenburg".

Mutiny

"Australia" sailed for home on 23 April 1919, arriving in Fremantle on 28 May. On 1 June the "HMAS Australia mutiny" occurred.Cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/units/event_141.asp |publisher=Australian War Memorial |title=HMAS Australia mutiny |accessdaymonth=24 August |accessyear=2008] The crew had been given four days leave, and when the crew was ordered to make preparations to sail, to comply with a schedule of "welcome home" ceremonies, over 80 sailors assembled on the quarterdeck and requesting that the departure be delayed to allow further shore leave in Fremantle and Perth. Other believed causes for the crew's frustration were the monotonous duty and lack of action during the war, several misunderstansings relating to crew pay and enlistment periods, and rivalry between the Australian and British sections of the crew.

The group was addressed by Captain Claude Cumberlege, who listened to their concerns but informed them that the ship's departure could not be delayed due to the tight schedule. The sailors dispersed unhappily but voluntarily, but when the orders came to sail, it was discovered that the duty stokers had abandoned their posts, preventing "Australia" from departing. Petty officers were ordered to the engine room and the ship left port only one hour late, with the incident spreading no further among the crew. Cumberlege pressed charges against 32 men: 27 were imprisoned in cells onboard "Australia" for 90 days, while five were court-martialled for mutiny after the battlecruiser's arrival in Sydney on 15 June, and were variously imprisoned for between one and two years on 20 June. After a public outcry, all five were released in December.

Post-war

"Australia" resumed her peacetime role as the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy. In 1920, it was decided that the large amount of resources and manpower required for the ship could be used elsewhere. "Australia"’s crew was downsized, and she was sent to Victoria and retasked as a gunnery and torpedo drill ship, with a secondary role as a defensive gun battery. In November 1921, "Australia" was returned to Sydney, and was decommissioned into reserve on 12 December 1921. Over the next three years, the ship was stripped of all useful equipment, as well as numerous souvenirs.

The Washington Naval Treaty, signed in 1922, required the participating nations to downsize their naval forces. As she was part of the British Empire, Australia was required to scuttle the battlecruiser with her main armament. "Australia" was towed out to sea and scuttled on 12 April 1924, an event that was seen as either the loss of a symbolic but obsolete part of the RAN, or as significantly weakening the navy's strength.cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/index.php/Publication:Semaphore_-_Issue_5%2C_2004 |title=A Loss More Symbolic than Material? |month=May |year=2004 |work=Semaphore |publisher|Sea Power Centre Australia |accessdaymonth=24 August |accessyear=2008]

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