Australia's Navy came into existence as the Commonwealth Naval Forces on 1 March 1901 and on 10 July 1911, King George V granted the title 'Royal Australian Navy' to the new service. The RAN had been established with the support of the British Admiralty which felt that independent dominion navies were necessary to control the Pacific, when the Royal Navy was fully engaged with affairs elsewhere. The first new warship built for the Commonwealth, the destroyer Parramatta, was launched in Britain on Wednesday 9 February 1910; Parramatta's sister ship Yarra was launched the following month. Both ships were originally commissioned into the Royal Navy and on 10 September 1910 sailed for Australia, arriving at Broome Western Australia on 15 November where they passed to the control of the Australian Government. Work on other new vessels proceeded rapidly and on Saturday 4 October 1913 the Australian Fleet Unit, comprising the battle cruiser HMAS Australia, the cruisers Melbourne, Sydney, and Encounter, and the torpedo-boat destroyers Parramatta, Yarra and Warrego, entered Sydney Harbour. On the same day, responsibility for the protection of Australian waters was transferred from the Royal Navy to the RAN.

The powerful and effective ocean-going fleet was a source of immense pride to the young Australian nation and its the entry into Sydney was greeted by huge and enthusiastic crowds of onlookers. The RAN went on to have its baptism of fire the following year with the outbreak of the First World War. Over the following ten decades of war and peace the RAN has evolved into the efficient, professional fighting force that serves Australia today. Australia's navy maintains a significant presence in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans and engages in worldwide operations in support of military campaigns, peacekeeping missions and humanitarian relief. Don Braben's evocative painting captures the ships of the new fleet at sea in the early morning light on the morning of 4 October 1913, heading towards Sydney. Australia, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Sir George Patey, KCVO leads the column, followed by the cruisers Melbourne, Sydney and Encounter, with the destroyer Yarra at the end of the line. The destroyers Parramatta and Warrego flank Australia; the destroyers would return to their position in the line for the entry into Sydney Harbour. The names of HMA Ships Melbourne, Parramatta, Sydney and Yarra live on in today's RAN.

Chief of Navy launches IFR Book

Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, speaking at the launch of Celebrating 100 Years of Pride in the Fleet

On November 28 2014 the Australian Navy commissioned its biggest ever warship, HMAS Canberra. To celebrate this historic event Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, launched a spectacular new book commemorating the proud history of the Australian fleet. The book "Celebrating 100 Years of Pride in the Fleet" represents the culmination of 100 years of Navy service. The launch of HMAS Canberra represents the next 100 years of Navy service.

The official book launch took place the morning of November 28 at Garden Island on the wharf, right alongside HMAS Canberra, and Vice Admiral Barrett was available for questions immediately following the launch.

"Celebrating 100 Years of Pride in the Fleet" is a spectacular new book about the history of the Royal Australian Navy. It was initially inspired by the images captured by Navy Photographers covering the International Fleet Review in Sydney last year, and the IFR is a key focus of the publication. However, the book has grown to include a rare and substantial offering of spectacular photographs and articles that tell the broader story of Navy, its establishments and the fleet.

The 271 page colour book is a tribute to all those who have served in the Royal Australian Navy. With forewords by former Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs (now Vice Chief of the Defence Force); current Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett; and Warrant Officer of the Navy, Martin Holzberger, this coffee table sized book brings together the work of Navy Photographers and historians to deliver a remarkable account of Navy.

Review of Celebrating 100 years of pride in the fleet

By Brian Hartigan, CONTACT magazine
CONTACT Air Land & Sea

The Royal Australian Navy's International Fleet Review in Sydney from 3 to 11 October 2013 was a spectacle on a grand scale.

Held to commemorate the centenary of the Royal Australian Navy's First Fleet entry into Sydney in 1913 when the then recently commissioned flagship HMAS Australia led HMA Ships Melbourne, Sydney, Encounter, Warrego, Parramatta and Yarra through The Heads.

Their magnificent entry into Sydney Harbour for the first time, greeted by thousands of cheering citizens, was a moment of great national pride and importance, hailed as a key indicator of Australia's progress towards national maturity.

One hundred years later, the centenary International Fleet Review was even more magnificent and almost as meaningful as HMA Ships Sydney, Darwin, Perth, Parramatta, Bundaberg, Diamantina, and Huon, followed by 30 foreign vessels cruised up a thronged Sydney Harbour for official review.

That evening, with a crowd estimated at well over a million watching from all the usual vantage spots, and many more watching on TV, the sky was lit up by a spectacular pyrotechnics and light show the equal of any before in Sydney, as a city and a nation paid homage to a century of Royal Australian Navy service.

Royal Australian Navy International Fleet Review: Celebrating 100 years of pride in the fleet is a new and magnificent coffee-table book inspired by the amazing images captured by a plethora of Navy photographers that day.
But it's not just about that one week in October 2013. This book is a volume of immense weight and substance (both physically and metaphorically), which also covers 100 years of RAN history, and features a beautiful, informative and comprehensive catalogue of all Navy's establishments and current fleet.

At 272 pages of mostly colour images, rich stories and tabulated facts, this book is definitely a 'must have' for any serious Navy collector or enthusiast.

Officially launched by Chief of Navy on 28 November 2014 at another historic RAN event, the Commissioning of HMAS Canberra.