Cockatoo Island's surrounding waters acted as a large natural basin while its docks and stores supported construction and repair work. HMS Adelaide was launched there in 1918, and destroyers were fitted out at the yard during the Second World War. Building a light cruiser made the site a construction centre as well as a repair base. The island joined industrial capacity to a sheltered anchorage where ships could wait and fit out or receive repairs.
Chapter · 35:58-37:46
Cockatoo Island combines shipbuilding with a natural basin
Cockatoo Island's docks, stores, building work, and sheltered waters made it both an Australian construction centre and a repair base.