News and events Sydney Harbour Federation Trust

NOW OPEN:
CAC Call - HMAS Platypus

HMAS Platypus, Neutral Bay, is now also being placed under the management of the Harbour Trust. The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust Act 2001 requires the Harbour Trust to establish Community Advisory Committees for each area to provide advice or recommendations to the Trust on matters relating to the area.

The Trustees now invite any person to put themselves forward as a potential member of the Community Advisory Committee.

The Trust is most interested in people who have special knowledge or experience on HMAS Platypus. All names will be kept in a Register for a period of three years.

If you wish to be registered as a potential Community Advisory Committee member, write to the Executive Director, Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, PO Box 607, Mosman NSW 2088, outlining in about 100 words your key experience, and attaching other information if appropriate.

Closing date: 26 August 2005.

Harbour Trust: News and Events

HMAS Platypus Handed to the Public - 23 July 2005

Hon Greg Hunt MP at the Handover Ceremony

The former submarine base in Neutral Bay was formally handed over from the Department of Defence to the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust on Saturday 23 July 2005.

The site becomes the eighth on Sydney Harbour to come under the management of the Trust.

Bright blue skies and a sparkling harbour formed the backdrop to an event that saw hundreds of members of the public visit the former Defence establishment, witness the handover ceremony and participate in the first Harbour Trust consultation session for the site.

The Handover Ceremony

The handover ceremony formalised the transfer of the site to the management of the Harbour Trust.

The crowd in attendance heard speeches that dealt with the site's use over the years, its importance in the naval history of Australia during World War II, and afterwards its evolution into one of the most important submarine bases in Australia and its eventual closure during the 1990s.

The crowd attending the Handover Ceremony

The ceremony was attended by the Hon Greg Hunt (Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage), the Hon Teresa Gambaro (Parliamentary Secretary for Defence), the Hon Joe Hockey (Member for North Sydney), Carole Baker (community representative) and Kevin McCann (Chair, Sydney Harbour Federation Trust), as well as a number of local dignitaries.

The Open Day

A major attraction on the day was the opportunity for the public to walk around the site and take in the historic buildings and facilities on the 1.8 hectares.

The torpedo maintenance and engineering building, gymnasium, offices and historic naval stores building were amongst a number of key buildings to be opened.

Harbour Trust volunteers were on hand to help direct the public and provide some history about the site.

Brian Kirkham, Harbour Trust volunteer in action

The Frenchs Forest Lions Club provided a sausage sizzle, and a coffee cart was set up to dispense refreshments and pastries to the visiting public - contributing to a highly enjoyable day.

The Community Consultation Session

At 1.00pm, around 65 members of the public were involved in the first community consultation session for the site.

The session was an opportunitty for individuals and community groups to tell Harbour Trust planners about their knowledge of the site and what they would like to see happen there in the future.

Feedback about this session can be requested from the Community Consultation Coordinator by email: consult@harbourtrust.gov.au.

Further Information

For any other information about the open day, please contact the Harbour Trust on 8969 2100.

The community consultation session

Top of page

NOW OPEN: CAC Call - HMAS Platypus