HMAS Leeuwin

HMAS Leeuwin is a former Royal Australian Navy (RAN) shore establishment, located in, Western Australia, Australia. In use between 1940 and 1984, the base reopened in 1986 under the control of the Australian Army as Leeuwin Barracks.Commissioned in August 1940 as the naval depot for Fremantle, the base was adopted for use as a training facility after World War II, initially for RAN reservists and national servicemen, then as the Junior Recruit Training Establishment (JRTE) from 1960 until 1984. There was widespread sexual and physical abuse of trainees at the JRTE, with 10% of reports investigated by the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce relating to incidents at Leeuwin. Decommissioned from naval service in 1986, the base was later reopened under the control of the Australian Army as Leeuwin Barracks. In 2015, the Australian Government announced that the Leeuwin site will be sold off for residential development.HistoryLeeuwin was commissioned into the RAN on 1 August 1940 as the naval depot for Fremantle. The base was named after the Dutch galleon Leeuwin (lioness), which accidentally discovered the south-east coast of Western Australia in 1622 while sailing to Batavia. The ship's badge assigned to the base was based on the Coat of arms of the Netherlands. The original facility was centred on a drill hall constructed in 1926 in East Fremantle, which prior to commissioning as Leeuwin was identified as Cerberus V, a sub-base of in Victoria. In 1942, Leeuwin was relocated to Preston Point, on the other side of the Swan River.