HMAS Watson

HMAS Watson is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base on Sydney Harbour at South Head, near in Sydney, New South WalesSydney]], Australia. Commissioned in 1945 (after three years operating as HMAS Radar), the base served as the RAN's radar training school. In 1956, torpedo and anti-submarine warfare training were relocated to the base, and by 2011, Watson was the main maritime warfare training base, as well as providing post-entry education for maritime warfare officers, training for combat system and electronic warfare sailors, and command training.HistoryThe base's name is derived from its location at, which in turn was named after Robert Watson, the quartermaster of HMS Sirius, a ship of the First Fleet. In 1801, Governor Philip King granted Watson land at South Head, where he settled. Watson later becoming boatswain, senior harbour pilot and harbourmaster of the new colony. In 1818, Governor Lachlan Macquarie commissioned the "Macquarie Lighthouse" appointing Watson as the first superintendent of the lighthouse. Today, the Macquarie Lighthouse is depicted in the centre of the crest of HMS Watson.