- HMAS Assault
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name = HMAS Assault
caption = Troops and landing craft crews training at HMAS Assault duringWorld War II
dates = September 1942 - August 1944
country =Australia
branch =Royal Australian Navy
type = Training
command_structure =
motto =
colors =
colors_label =
disbanded = April 1945HMAS "Assault" was a
Royal Australian Navy Naval Training Centre at Nelson Bay in thePort Stephens area ofNew South Wales ,Australia duringWorld War II .The site was chosen because Port Stephens was relatively isolated and provided a safe haven from the Japanese
submarine activity occurring off the east coast of Australia.HMAS "Westralia" anchored in Port Stephens on 3 September 1942 to provide interim accommodation until HMAS Assault was completed.
The Naval Training Center at HMAS "Assault" was used to train
Royal Australian Navy Beach Commandos , landing craft crews, beach parties and signal teams.In August 1944 HMAS "Assault" was decommissioned and operated in care and maintenance duties until the
Royal Navy British Pacific Fleet occupied HMAS "Assault" from April 1945. The site became aRoyal Marines Commando Depot.In June 1945 the Sick Bay Centre was turned into a small regional hospital of about 10 beds.
In 1949 the
Commonwealth Employment Service took over the site to house European migrant workers. The migrant hostel was closed in mid 1953.The Sick Bay building reopened as a hospital in April 1956. The hospital closed in 1981.
On 10 August 1981 the Port Stephens Society of the Arts took ownership of the Sick Bay building to become the Port Stephens Community Arts Centre.
References
*
*
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.