Garden Island Dockyard
The Captain Cook graving dock at Garden Island navy base, completed and opened in 1945, was one of Australia's greatest engineering feats, surpassing even that of the Sydney Harbour bridge at the time. At 345 metres long, 45 metres wide and 14 metres deep, the dock was formed by reclaiming 30 acres of land between Garden Island (named for the kitchen garden for the First Fleet in 1788) and the mainland at Potts Point. The dockyard facilities are used to service both naval and civilian vessels.
From 2004 until 2013 I worked on Garden Island and each time there was an interesting or significant docking I asked the dockmaster for permission to take photographs of the working dockyard. Sadly, the hammerhead crane that features in some photographs, itself an engineering marvel, was decommissioned and then finally removed in 2014.
From 2004 until 2013 I worked on Garden Island and each time there was an interesting or significant docking I asked the dockmaster for permission to take photographs of the working dockyard. Sadly, the hammerhead crane that features in some photographs, itself an engineering marvel, was decommissioned and then finally removed in 2014.
