HMAS Australia ( 1911 ) HMAS " Australia " was one of three s built for the defence of the British Empire . Ordered by the Australian government in 1909 , she was launched in 1911 , and commissioned as flagship of the fledgling Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) in 1913 . " Australia " was the only capital ship ever to serve in the RAN . At the start of World War I , " Australia " was tasked with finding and destroying the German East Asia Squadron , which was prompted to withdraw from the Pacific by the battlecruiser ' s presence . Repeated diversions to support the capture of German colonies in New Guinea and Samoa , as well as an overcautious Admiralty , prevented the battlecruiser from engaging the German squadron before the latter ' s destruction . " Australia " was then assigned to North Sea operations , which consisted primarily of patrols and exercises , until the end of the war . During this time , " Australia " was involved in early attempts at naval aviation , and 11 of her personnel participated in the Zeebrugge Raid . The battlecruiser was not at the Battle of Jutland , as she was undergoing repairs following a collision with sister ship . " Australia " only ever fired in anger twice : at a German merchant vessel in January 1915 , and at a suspected submarine contact in December 1917 . On her return to Australian waters , several sailors aboard the warship mutinied after a request for an extra day ' s leave in Fremantle was denied , although other issues played a part in the mutiny , including minimal leave during the war , problems with pay , and the perception that Royal Navy personnel were more likely to receive promotions than Australian sailors . Post - war budget cuts saw " Australia " s role downgraded to a training ship before she was placed in reserve in 1921 . The disarmament provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty required the destruction of " Australia " as part of Britain ' s commitment , and she was scuttled off Sydney Heads in 1924 . Design . The " Indefatigable " class of battlecruisers were based heavily on the preceding . The main difference was that the " Indefatigable " s design was enlarged to give the ships ' two wing turrets a wider arc of fire . As a result , the " Indefatigable " class was not a significant improvement on the " Invincible " design ; the ships were smaller and not as well protected as the contemporary German battlecruiser and subsequent German designs . While " Von der Tann " s characteristics were not known when the lead ship of the class , , was laid down in February 1909 , the Royal Navy obtained accurate information on the German ship before work began on " Australia " and her sister ship . " Australia " had an overall length of , a beam of , and a maximum draught of . She displaced at load and at deep load . The Parsons direct - drive steam turbines were designed to produce , which would propel the ship at . However , during trials in 1913 , " Australia " turbines provided , allowing her to reach . " Australia " carried approximately of coal , and an additional of fuel oil ; this was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate . " Australia " carried eight BL 12 - inch Mark X guns in four BVIII * twin turret s ; the largest guns fitted to any Australian warship . Two turrets were mounted fore and aft on the centreline , identified as ' A ' and ' X ' respectively . The other two were wing turret s mounted amidships and staggered diagonally : ' P ' was forward and to port of the centre funnel , while ' Q ' was situated starboard and aft . Each wing turret had some limited ability to fire to the opposite side . Her secondary armament consisted of sixteen BL 4 - inch Mark VII guns positioned in the superstructure . She mounted two submerged tubes for 18 - inch torpedoes , one on each side aft of ' X ' barbette , and 12 torpedoes were carried . " Australia " s ' A ' turret was fitted with a rangefinder at the rear of the turret roof . It was also equipped to control the entire main armament , in case normal fire control positions were knocked out or rendered incommunicado . Modifications . " Australia " received a single QF 3 - inch 20 cwt ( 76 mm ) anti - aircraft ( AA ) gun on a high - angle Mark II mount that was added in March 1915 . This had a maximum depression of 10° and a maximum elevation of 90° . It fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of at a rate of fire of 12 – 14 rounds per minute . It had a maximum effective ceiling of . It was provided with 500 rounds . The 4 - inch guns were enclosed in casemate s and given blast shields during a refit in November 1915 to better protect the gun crews from weather and enemy action , and two aft guns were removed at the same time . An additional 4 - inch gun was fitted in during 1917 as an AA gun . It was mounted on a Mark II high - angle mounting with a maximum elevation of 60° . It had a reduced propellant charge with a muzzle velocity of only ; 100 rounds were carried for it . " Australia " received a fire - control director sometime between mid - 1915 and May 1916 ; this centralised fire control under the director officer , who now fired the guns . The turret crewmen merely had to follow pointers transmitted from the director to align their guns on the target . This greatly increased accuracy , as it was easier to spot the fall of shells and eliminated the problem of the ship ' s roll dispersing the shells when each turret fired independently . " Australia " was also fitted with an additional inch of armour around the midships turrets following the Battle of Jutland . By 1918 , " Australia " carried a Sopwith Pup and a Sopwith 1½ Strutter on platforms fitted to the top of ' P ' and ' Q ' turrets . The first flying off by a 1½ Strutter was from " Australia " s ' Q ' turret on 4 April 1918 . Each platform had a canvas hangar to protect the aircraft during inclement weather . At the end of World War I , " Australia " was described as " the least obsolescent of her class " . After the war , both anti - aircraft guns were replaced by a pair of QF 4 - inch Mark V guns on manually operated high - angle mounts in January 1920 . Their elevation limits were −5° to 80° . The guns fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of at a rate of fire of 10 – 15 rounds per minute . They had a maximum effective ceiling of . Acquisition and construction . At the start of the 20th century , the British Admiralty maintained that naval defence of the British Empire , including the Dominions , should be unified under the Royal Navy . Attitudes on this matter softened during the first decade , and at the 1909 Imperial Conference , the Admiralty proposed the creation of ' Fleet Units ' : forces consisting of a battlecruiser , three light cruisers , six destroyers , and three submarines . Although some were to be operated by the Royal Navy at distant bases , particularly in the Far East , the Dominions were encouraged to purchase fleet units to serve as the core of new national navies : Australia and Canada were both encouraged to do so at earliest opportunity , New Zealand was asked to partially subsidise a fleet unit for the China Station , and there were plans for South Africa to fund one at a future point . Each fleet unit was designed as a " navy in miniature " , and would operate under the control of the purchasing Dominion during peacetime . In the event of widespread conflict , the fleet units would come under Admiralty control , and would be merged to form larger fleets for regional defence . Australia was the only Dominion to purchase a full fleet unit , and while the New Zealand - funded battlecruiser was donated to the Royal Navy outright , no other nation purchased ships under the fleet unit plan . On 9 December 1909 , a cable was sent by Governor - General Lord Dudley to the Secretary of State for the Colonies , The Earl of Crewe , requesting that construction of three cruisers and an " Indefatigable " - class battlecruiser start at earliest opportunity . It is unclear why this design was selected , given that it was known to be inferior to the battlecruisers entering service with the German Imperial Navy ( " Kaiserliche Marine " ) . Historian John Roberts has suggested that the request may have been attributable to the Royal Navy ' s practice of using small battleships and large cruisers as flagships of stations far from Britain , or it might have reflected the preferences of the First Sea Lord and Admiral of the Fleet John Fisher , preferences not widely shared . The Australian Government decided on the name " Australia " , as this would avoid claims of favouritism or association with a particular state . The ship ' s badge depicted the Federation Star overlaid by a naval crown , and her motto was " Endeavour " , reflecting both an idealisation of Australians ' national spirit and attitude , and a connection to James Cook and HM Bark " Endeavour " . On 6 May 1910 , George Reid , Australia ' s high commissioner to the United Kingdom , sent a telegram cable to the Australian Government suggesting that the ship be named after the newly crowned King George V , but this was rebuffed . Bids for construction were forwarded to the Australian Government by Reid on 7 March 1910 , and Prime Minister Alfred Deakin approved the submission by John Brown & Company to construct the hull and machinery , with separate contracts awarded to Armstrong and Vickers for the battlecruiser ' s armament . The total cost of construction was set at £2 million . Contracts were signed between the Admiralty and the builders to avoid the problems of distant supervision by the Australian Government , and a close watch on proceedings was maintained by Reid and Captain Francis Haworth - Booth , the Australian Naval Representative in London . " Australia " s keel was laid at John Brown & Company ' s Clydebank yard on 23 June 1910 , and was assigned the yard number 402 . The ship was launched by Lady Reid on 25 October 1911 , in a ceremony which received extensive media coverage . " Australia " s design was altered during construction to incorporate improvements in technology , including the newly developed nickel - steel armour plate . While it was intended that the entire ship be fitted with the new armour , manufacturing problems meant that older armour had to be used in some sections : the delay in sourcing the older armour plates set construction back half a year . Despite this , John Brown & Company delivered the ship £295 , 000 under budget . During construction , First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill attempted to arrange for " Australia " to remain in British waters on completion . Although the claim was made on strategic grounds , the reasoning behind it was so the Australian - funded ship could replace one to be purchased with British defence funds . This plan was successfully resisted by Admiral George King - Hall , then Commander - in - Chief of the Royal Navy ' s Australia Squadron . " Australia " sailed for Devonport , Devon in mid - February 1913 to begin her acceptance trials . Testing of the guns , torpedoes , and machinery was successful , but it was discovered that two hull plates had been damaged during the launch , requiring the battlecruiser to dock for repairs . " Australia " was commissioned into the RAN at Portsmouth on 21 June 1913 . Two days later , Rear Admiral George Patey , the first Rear Admiral Commanding Australian Fleet , raised his flag aboard " Australia " . At launch , the standard ship ' s company was 820 , over half of which were Royal Navy personnel ; the other half was made up of Australian - born RAN personnel , or Britons transferring from the Royal Navy to the RAN . Accommodation areas were crowded , with each man having only of space to sling his hammock when " Australia " was fully manned . Moreover , the ventilation system was designed for conditions in Europe , and was inadequate for the climate in and around Australia . On delivery , " Australia " was the largest warship in the Southern Hemisphere . Operational history . Voyage to Australia . Following her commissioning , " Australia " hosted several official events . On 30 June , King George V and Edward , Prince of Wales , visited " Australia " to farewell the ship . During this visit , King George knighted Patey on the battlecruiser ' s quarterdeck — the first time a naval officer was knighted aboard a warship since Francis Drake . On 1 July , Patey hosted a luncheon which was attended by imperial dignitaries , including Reid , the Agents - General of the Australian states , First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill , Secretary of State for the Colonies Lewis Harcourt , and the High Commissioners of other British Dominions . That afternoon , 600 Australian expatriates were invited to a ceremonial farewelling , and were entertained by shows and fireworks . Journalists and cinematographers were allowed aboard to report on " Australia " prior to her departure , and an official reporter was embarked for the voyage to Australia : his role was to promote the ship as a symbol of the bond between Australia and the United Kingdom . " Australia " was escorted by the light cruiser during the voyage to Australia . On 25 July , the two ships left England for South Africa : the visit was part of an agreement between the Prime Ministers of Australia and South Africa to promote the link between the two nations , along with the nations ' links to the rest of the British Empire . The two ships were anchored in Table Bay from 18 to 26 August , during which the ships ' companies participated in parades and receptions , while tens of thousands of people came to observe the ships . The two ships also visited Simon ' s Town , while " Australia " additionally called into Durban . No other major ports were visited on the voyage , and the warships were instructed to avoid all major Australian ports . " Australia " and " Sydney " reached Jervis Bay on 2 October , where they rendezvoused with the rest of the RAN fleet ( the cruisers and , and the destroyers , , and ) . The seven warships prepared for a formal fleet entry into Sydney Harbour . On 4 October , " Australia " led the fleet into Sydney Harbour , where responsibility for Australian naval defence was passed from the Royal Navy ' s Australia Squadron , commanded by King - Hall aboard , to the RAN , commanded by Patey aboard " Australia " . Early service . In her first year of service , " Australia " visited as many major Australian ports as possible , in order to expose the new navy to the widest possible audience and induce feelings of nationhood : naval historian David Stevens claims that these visits did more to break down state rivalries and promote the unity of Australia as a federated commonwealth than any other event . During late 1913 , footage for the film " Sea Dogs of Australia " was filmed aboard the battlecruiser ; the film was withdrawn almost immediately after first screening in August 1914 because of security concerns . During July 1914 , " Australia " and other units of the RAN fleet were on a training cruise in Queensland waters . On 27 July , the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board learned through press telegrams that the British Admiralty thought that there would be imminent and widespread war in Europe following the July Crisis , and had begun to position its fleets as a precaution . Three days later , the Board learned that the official warning telegram had been sent : at 22 : 30 , " Australia " was recalled to Sydney to take on coal and stores . On 3 August , the RAN was placed under Admiralty control . Orders for RAN warships were prepared over the next few days : " Australia " was assigned to the concentration of British naval power on the China Station , but was allowed to seek out and destroy any armoured warships ( particularly those of the German East Asia Squadron ) in the Australian Station before doing so . Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee , commander of the German squadron , was aware of " Australia " s presence in the region and her superiority to his entire force ; the German admiral ' s plan was to harass British shipping and colonies in the Pacific until the presence of " Australia " and the China Squadron forced his fleet to relocate to other seas . World War I . Securing local waters . The British Empire declared war on Germany on 5 August , and the RAN swung into action . " Australia " had departed Sydney the night before , and was heading north to rendezvous with other RAN vessels south of German New Guinea . The German colonial capital of Rabaul was considered a likely base of operations for von Spee , and Patey put together a plan to clear the harbour . " Australia " s role was to hang back : if the armoured cruisers and were present , the other RAN vessels would lure them into range of the battlecruiser . The night - time operation was executed on 11 August , and no German ships were found in the harbour . Over the next two days , " Australia " and the other ships unsuccessfully searched the nearby bays and coastline for the German ships and any wireless stations , before returning to Port Moresby to refuel . In late August , " Australia " and escorted a New Zealand occupation force to German Samoa . Patey believed that the German fleet was likely to be in the eastern Pacific , and Samoa would be a logical move . Providing protection for the New Zealand troopships was a beneficial coincidence , although the timing could have been better , as an Australian expedition to occupy German New Guinea departed from Sydney a few days after the New Zealand force left home waters — " Australia " was expected to support both , but Patey only learned of the expeditions after they had commenced their journeys . The battlecruiser left Port Moresby on 17 August and was met by " Melbourne " en route on 20 August . The next day , they reached Nouméa and the New Zealand occupation force , consisting of the troopships " Moeraki " and " Monowai " , the French cruiser , and three s . The grounding of " Monowai " delayed the expedition ' s departure until 23 August ; the ships reached Suva , Fiji on 26 August , and arrived off Apia early in the morning of 30 August . The city surrendered without a fight , freeing " Australia " and " Melbourne " to depart at noon on 31 August to meet the Australian force bound for Rabaul . The Australian invasion force had mustered off the Louisiade Archipelago by 9 September ; the assembled ships included " Australia " , the cruisers , and , the destroyers , , and , the submarines and , the auxiliary cruiser , the storeship , three colliers and an oiler . The force sailed north , and at 06 : 00 on 11 September , " Australia " deployed two picket boat s to secure Karavia Bay for the expeditionary force ' s transports and supply ships . Later that day , " Australia " captured the German steamer " Sumatra " off Cape Tawui . After this , the battlecruiser stood off , in case she was required to shell one of the two wireless stations the occupation force was attempting to capture . The German colony was captured , and on 15 September , " Australia " departed for Sydney . Pursuit of von Spee . The presence of " Australia " around the former German colonies , combined with the likelihood of Japan declaring war on Germany , prompted von Spee to withdraw his ships from the region . On 13 August , the East Asia Squadron — with the exception of , which was sent to prey on British shipping in the Indian Ocean — had begun to move eastwards . After appearing off Samoa on 14 September , then attacking Tahiti eight days later , von Spee led his force to South America , and from there planned to sail for the Atlantic . Patey was ordered on 17 September to head back north with " Australia " and " Sydney " to protect the Australian expeditionary force . On 1 October , " Australia " , " Sydney " , " Montcalm " , and " Encounter " headed north from Rabaul to find the German ships , but turned around to return at midnight , after receiving an Admiralty message about the Tahiti attack . Although Patey suspected that the Germans were heading for South America and wanted to follow with " Australia " , the Admiralty was unsure that the intelligence was accurate , and tasked the battlecruiser with patrolling around Fiji in case they returned . " Australia " reached Suva on 12 October , and spent the next four weeks patrolling the waters around Fiji , Samoa , and New Caledonia : despite Patey ' s desires to range out further , Admiralty orders kept him chained to Suva until early November . As Patey predicted , von Spee had continued east , and it was not until his force inflicted the first defeat on the Royal Navy in 100 years at the Battle of Coronel that " Australia " was allowed to pursue . Departing on 8 November , the battlecruiser replenished coal from a pre - positioned collier on 14 November , and reached Chamela Bay ( near Manzanillo , Mexico ) 12 days later . Patey was made commander of a multinational squadron tasked with preventing the German squadron from sailing north to Canadian waters , or following them if they attempted to enter the Atlantic via the Panama Canal or around Cape Horn . Patey ' s ships included " Australia " , the British light cruiser and the Japanese cruisers , , and the ex - Russian battleship " Hizen " . The ships made for the Galapagos Islands , which were searched from 4 to 6 December . After finding no trace of von Spee ' s force , the Admiralty ordered Patey to investigate the South American coast from Perlas Island down to the Gulf of Guayaquil . The German squadron had sailed for the Atlantic via Cape Horn , and was defeated by a British fleet after attempting to raid the Falkland Islands on 8 December . Patey ' s squadron learned of this 10 December , while off the Gulf of Panama ; " Australia " s personnel were disappointed that they did not have the chance to take on " Scharnhorst " and " Gneisenau " . Nevertheless , the battlecruiser ' s presence in the Pacific during 1914 had provided an important counter to the German armoured cruisers , and enabled the RAN to participate in the Admiralty ' s global strategy . Moreover , it is unlikely that the attack on Rabaul would have gone ahead had " Australia " not been available to protect the landing force . North Sea operations . As the threat of a German naval attack had been removed by the destruction of the East Asia Squadron , " Australia " was free for deployment elsewhere . Initially , the battlecruiser was to serve as flagship of the West Indies Squadron , with the task of pursuing and destroying any German vessels that evaded North Sea blockades . " Australia " was ordered to sail to Jamaica via the Panama Canal , but as it was closed to heavy shipping , she was forced to sail down the coast of South America and pass through the Strait of Magellan during 31 December 1914 and 1 January 1915 — " Australia " is the only ship of the RAN to cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic by sailing under South America . During the crossing , one of the warship ' s propellers was damaged , and she had to limp to the Falkland Islands at half speed . Temporary repairs were made , and " Australia " departed on 5 January . A vessel well clear of the usual shipping routes was spotted on the afternoon of the next day , and the battlecruiser attempted to pursue , but was hampered by the damaged propeller . Unable to close the gap before sunset , a warning shot was fired from ' A ' turret , which caused the ship — the former German passenger liner , now naval auxiliary " Eleonora Woermann " — to stop and be captured . As " Australia " could not spare enough personnel to crew the merchant ship , and " Eleonora Woermann " was too slow to keep pace with the battlecruiser , the crew was taken aboard and the ship was sunk . Following the Battle of Dogger Bank , the Admiralty saw the need for dedicated battlecruiser squadrons in British waters , and earmarked " Australia " to lead one of them . On 11 January , while en route to Jamaica , " Australia " was diverted to Gibraltar . Reaching there on 20 January , the battlecruiser was ordered to proceed to Plymouth , where she arrived on 28 January and paid off for a short refit . The docking was completed on 12 February , and " Australia " reached Rosyth on 17 February after sailing through a gale . She was made flagship of the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron ( 2nd BCS ) of the Battlecruiser Fleet , part of the British Grand Fleet , on 22 February . Vice Admiral Patey was appointed to command this squadron . In early March , to avoid a conflict of seniority between Patey and the leader of the Battlecruiser Fleet , Vice Admiral David Beatty , Patey was reassigned to the West Indies , and Rear Admiral William Pakenham raised his flag aboard " Australia " . British and Allied ships deployed to the North Sea were tasked with protecting the British Isles from German naval attack , and keeping the German High Seas Fleet penned in European waters through a distant blockade while trying to lure them into a decisive battle . During her time with the 2nd BCS , " Australia " s operations primarily consisted of training exercises ( either in isolation or with other ships ) , patrols of the North Sea area in response to actual or perceived German movements , and some escort work . These duties were so monotonous , one sailor was driven insane . " Australia " joined the Grand Fleet in a sortie on 29 March , in response to intelligence that the German fleet was leaving port as the precursor to a major operation . By the next night , the German ships had withdrawn , and " Australia " returned to Rosyth . On 11 April , the British fleet was again deployed on the intelligence that a German force was planning an operation . The Germans intended to lay mines at the Swarte Bank , but after a scouting Zeppelin located a British light cruiser squadron , they began to prepare for what they thought was a British attack . Heavy fog and the need to refuel caused " Australia " and the British vessels to return to port on 17 August , and although they were redeployed that night , they were unable to stop two German light cruisers from laying the minefield . From 26 to 28 January 1916 , the 2nd BCS was positioned off the Skagerrak while the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron swept the strait in an unsuccessful search of a possible minelayer . On the morning of 21 April , " Australia " and her sister ships sailed again for the Skagerrak , this time to support efforts to disrupt the transport of Swedish ore to Germany . The planned destroyer sweep of the Kattegat was cancelled when word came that the High Seas Fleet was mobilising for an operation of their own ( later learned to be timed to coincide with the Irish Easter Rising ) , and the British ships were ordered to a rendezvous point in the middle of the North Sea , while the rest of the Grand Fleet made for the south - eastern end of the Long Forties . On the afternoon of 22 April , the Battlecruiser Fleet was patrolling to the north - west of Horn Reefs when heavy fog came down . The ships were zigzagging to avoid submarine attack , which , combined with the weather conditions , caused " Australia " to collide with sister ship twice in three minutes . Procedural errors were found to be the cause of the collisions , which saw " Australia " ( the more heavily damaged of the two ships ) docked for six weeks of repairs between April and June 1916 . Initial inspections of the damage were made in a floating dock on the River Tyne , but the nature of the damage required a diversion to Devonport , Devon for the actual repair work . The repairs were completed more quickly than expected , and " Australia " rejoined the 2nd BCS Squadron at Rosyth on 9 June , having missed the Battle of Jutland . On the evening of 18 August , the Grand Fleet put to sea in response to a message deciphered by Room 40 , which indicated that the High Seas Fleet , minus II Squadron , would be leaving harbour that night . The German objective was to bombard Sunderland on 19 August , with extensive reconnaissance provided by airships and submarines . The Grand Fleet sailed with 29 dreadnought battleships and 6 battlecruisers . Throughout the next day , Jellicoe and Scheer received conflicting intelligence , with the result that having reached its rendezvous in the North Sea , the Grand Fleet steered north in the erroneous belief that it had entered a minefield before turning south again . Scheer steered south - eastward to pursue a lone British battle squadron sighted by an airship , which was in fact the Harwich Force under Commodore Tyrwhitt . Having realised their mistake , the Germans changed course for home . The only contact came in the evening when Tyrwhitt sighted the High Seas Fleet but was unable to achieve an advantageous attack position before dark , and broke off . Both the British and German fleets returned home , with two British cruisers sunk by submarines and a German dreadnought battleship damaged by a torpedo . The year 1917 saw a continuation of the battlecruiser ' s routine of exercises and patrols into the North Sea , with few incidents . During this year " Australia " s activities were limited to training voyages between Rosyth and Scapa Flow and occasional patrols to the north - east of Britain in search of German raiders . In May , while preparing the warship for action stations , a 12 - inch shell became jammed in the shell hoist when its fuze became hooked onto a projection . After the magazines were evacuated , Lieutenant - Commander F . C . Darley climbed down the hoist and successfully removed the fuze . On 26 June , King George V visited the ship . On 12 December , " Australia " was involved in a second collision , this time with the battlecruiser . Following this accident , she underwent three weeks of repairs from December 1917 until January 1918 . During the repair period , " Australia " became the first RAN ship to launch an aircraft , when a Sopwith Pup took off from her quarterdeck on 18 December . On 30 December , " Australia " shelled a suspected submarine contact , the only time during her deployment with the 2nd BCS that she fired on the enemy . In February 1918 , the call went out for volunteers to participate in a special mission to close the port of Zeebrugge using blockship s . Although many aboard " Australia " volunteered their services in an attempt to escape the drudgery of North Sea patrols , only 11 personnel — 10 sailors and an engineering lieutenant — were selected for the raid , which occurred on 23 April . The lieutenant was posted to the engine room of the requisitioned ferry , and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal ( DSM ) for his efforts . The other Australians were assigned to the boiler rooms of the blockship , or as part of a storming party along the mole . All ten sailors survived — " Australia " was the only ship to have no casualties from the raid — and three were awarded the DSM , while another three were mentioned in dispatches . One of the sailors was listed in the ballot to receive a Victoria Cross , but he did not receive the award . During 1918 , " Australia " and the Grand Fleet ' s other capital ships on occasion escorted convoys travelling between Britain and Norway . The 2nd BCS spent the period from 8 to 21 February covering these convoys in company with battleships and destroyers , and put to sea on 6 March in company with the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron to support minelayer s . From 8 March on , the battlecruiser tested the capabilities of aircraft launched from platforms mounted over ' P ' and ' Q ' turrets . " Australia " , along with the rest of the Grand Fleet , sortied on the afternoon of 23 March 1918 after radio transmissions had revealed that the High Seas Fleet was at sea after a failed attempt to intercept the regular British convoy to Norway . However , the Germans were too far ahead of the British and escaped without firing a shot . The 2nd BCS sailed again on 25 April to support minelayers , then cover one of the Scandinavian convoys the next day . Following the successful launch of a fully laden Sopwith 1½ Strutter scout plane on 14 May , " Australia " started carrying two aircraft — a Strutter for reconnaissance , and a Sopwith Camel fighter — and operated them until the end of the war . The 2nd BCS again supported minelayers in the North Sea between 25 – 26 June and 29 – 30 July . During September and October , " Australia " and the 2nd BCS supervised and protected minelaying operations north of Orkney . War ' s end . When the armistice with Germany was signed on 11 November 1918 to end World War I , one of the conditions was that the German High Seas Fleet was to be interred at Scapa Flow . The German fleet crossed the North Sea , and on 21 November , the British Grand Fleet sailed out to meet it ; " Australia " led the port division of the fleet . " Australia " then escorted the battlecruiser to Scapa Flow , and was assigned as the German vessel ' s guardship . " Australia " subsequently formed part of the force which guarded the High Seas Fleet during late 1918 and early 1919 , and spent much of her time either at anchor at Scapa Flow , or conducting patrols in the North Sea . This monotonous duty contributed to low morale among some sections of the ship ' s crew . After being formally farewelled by the Prince of Wales and First Sea Lord Rosslyn Wemyss on 22 April 1919 , " Australia " departed from Portsmouth for home the next day . She sailed in company with for the first part of the voyage , but the light cruiser later had to detach to tow the submarine . " Australia " arrived in Fremantle on 28 May 1919 , the first time the ship had seen home waters in four and a half years . Despite returning home , the battlecruiser remained under Admiralty control until 1 August 1919 . " Australia " was not awarded any official battle honours , although personnel aboard the battlecruiser and her successor claimed the operations in the Pacific , the North Sea patrol duties , and the battlecruiser ' s presence at the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet as unofficial honours . Following a reorganisation of RAN battle honours in 2010 , the honours " Rabaul 1914 " and " North Sea 1915 – 18 " were retroactively awarded on 1 March 2010 . Mutiny . " Australia " s ship ' s company had consistently suffered from low morale since the battlecruiser entered service , and the proportion of " Australia " s sailors who were placed on disciplinary charges during World War I was among the highest in the RAN . Many of the Australian sailors were chafing under the severity of naval discipline and what they saw as excessive punishment for minor breaches ; one example was of a sailor who was charged with desertion , imprisoned for three months , and lost all pay for staying out too late on Armistice Day . Factors which contributed to low morale and poor discipline included frustration at not participating in the Battle of Jutland , high rates of illness , limited opportunities for leave , delays or complete lack of deferred pay , and poor - quality food . The continuation of strict wartime routines and discipline after the armistice frustrated the ship ' s crew . There was also the perception that " Australia " s British personnel were being promoted faster than their Australian counterparts and were dominating leadership positions . The battlecruiser ' s arrival in Fremantle on 28 May was met with extensive hospitality , which was reciprocated where possible by the sailors with invitations and tours of their vessel . There were opportunities for shore leave , but these were limited as " Australia " was only in port for three days , and had to sail early on 1 June for Melbourne . Representatives of the ship ' s company approached Captain Claude Cumberlege to ask for a one - day delay on departure ; this would allow the sailors to have a full weekend of leave , give Perth - born personnel the chance to visit their families , and give personnel another chance to invite people aboard . Cumberlege replied that as " Australia " had a tight schedule of " welcome home " port visits , such delays could not even be considered . The next morning , at around 10 : 30 , between 80 and 100 sailors gathered in front of ' P ' turret , some in working uniform , others who had just returned from shore leave still in libertyman rig . Cumberlege sent the executive officer to find out why the men had assembled , and on learning that they were repeating the previous day ' s request for a delay in departure , went down to address them . In a strict , legalistic tone , he informed the sailors that delaying " Australia " s departure was impossible , and ordered them to disperse . The group obeyed this order , although some were vocal in their displeasure . Shortly after , " Australia " was ready to depart , but when the order to release the mooring lines and get underway was given , Cumberlege was informed that the stokers had abandoned the boiler rooms . After the assembly on deck , some sailors had masked themselves with black handkerchiefs , and encouraged or intimidated the stokers on duty into leaving their posts , leaving the navy ' s flagship stranded at the buoy , in full view of dignitaries and crowds lining the nearby wharf . The senior non - commissioned officer s , along with sailors drafted from other departments , were sent to the boiler room to get " Australia " moving , and departure from Fremantle was only delayed by an hour . Australian naval historians David Stevens and Tom Frame disagree on what happens next . Stevens states that Cumberledge assembled the ship ' s company in the early afternoon , read the " Articles of War " , lectured them on the seriousness of refusing duty , then ordered the stokers to go to their stations , which they did meekly . Frame claims that the stokers returned to duty freely once the battlecruiser was underway , before Cumberledge cleared lower deck and spoke to the sailors . After addressing the sailors , Cumberledge gathered the ship ' s senior officers for an inquiry . Five men , including the Victoria Cross nominee from the Zeebrugge raid , were charged with inciting a mutiny and arrested pending a court - martial , which was held aboard on 20 June , after " Australia " arrived in Sydney . The ruling was that the five men had " joined a mutiny , not accompanied by violence " , and they were sentenced to imprisonment in Goulburn Gaol : two for a year , one for eighteen months , and two for two years with hard labour . A number of other sailors were charged with participating in a mutiny , but again , Stevens and Frame disagree on details : the former claims 7 men were successfully charged , while the latter says 27 sailors were subsequently acquitted of mutiny , but then successfully charged with refusing duty . Both authors agree that these men were tried by the captain while " Australia " was still at sea , and punished with 90 days each in cells . Following the court - martial of the five ringleaders , there was debate among the public , in the media , and within government over the sentences ; while most agreed that a mutiny had occurred , there were differences in opinion on the leniency or severity of the punishments imposed . Public sympathy was with the sailors , and several politicians pressured the government and the Admiralty to pardon the men . The Admiralty thought the sentences were fair , but on 10 September announced that they would be halved on consideration of the sailors ' youth . Despite this , controversy continued until 21 November : after the Australian government appealed directly to the Admiralty , it was agreed that the sailors would be released on 20 December . However , the government had angered the Naval Board in appealing to the Admiralty without consulting the Board first . The First Naval Member , Rear Admiral Percy Grant and Commander of the Fleet , Commodore John Dumaresq , submitted their resignations in protest , as they felt the show of clemency would lead to a breakdown in discipline , and that if the government continued to communicate with the Admiralty without consulting the Board , it would undermine the Board ' s authority . The two officers were later convinced to withdraw their resignations after receiving assurances that Board would be consulted before all future government communications to Britain regarding the RAN , and that notices would be posted in all ships explaining that the sentences were correct , but the onset of peace had led to clemency in this particular case . Post - war . In May 1920 , " Australia " participated in celebrations and naval activities associated with the visit of the Prince of Wales . From July to November 1920 , an Avro 504 floatplane of the Australian Air Corps was embarked aboard " Australia " as part of a series of trials intended to cumulate in the creation of a naval aviation branch . The aircraft was stored on the quarterdeck next to ' Q ' turret , and was deployed and recovered by derrick . Inter - service rivalry and the ship ' s reduction to non - seagoing status in September prevented further operations . Following the demise of German naval power in the Pacific the fleet unit concept was no longer seen as being relevant , and " Australia " did not have a clear role . As a result , post - war budget cuts prompted the RAN to take the battlecruiser out of active service , as the large share of resources and manpower consumed by " Australia " could be better used elsewhere in the RAN . In August 1920 the battlecruiser was rated by the Naval Board as 11th out of the RAN ' s 12 priorities . Accordingly , her crew was reduced later that year and she was assigned to Flinders Naval Depot as a gunnery and torpedo training ship . In the event of a major conflict , " Australia " was to serve in a role akin to coastal artillery . She was not considered to have been placed in reserve at this time , however , as it was not possible for the RAN to provide a trained crew at short notice . Decommissioning and fate . " Australia " returned to Sydney in November 1921 , and was paid off into reserve in December . By this time battlecruisers built before the Battle of Jutland were considered obsolete , and there is no record of the Admiralty suggesting that Australia purchase a replacement . Moreover , it is unlikely that the Australian Government would have agreed to such a suggestion given the prevailing political and financial conditions . As the Admiralty had decided to phase out 12 - inch guns and had stopped the manufacture of shells for these weapons shortly after the war , it would have been necessary to replace " Australia " s main armament once the Navy ' s stock of shells reached their expiry date given that it was not possible to produce replacement shells in Australia . This was also not financially feasible for the government , particularly given the RAN ' s lack of interest in retaining the ship . The 1922 Washington Naval Treaty was a mutual naval arms limitation and disarmament treaty between the five major naval powers of the time : the United Kingdom , the United States of America , Japan , Italy , and France . One of the main aspects of the treaty was the limitation on the number and size of capital ships each nation possessed ; as the RAN was counted as part of the Royal Navy for the purposes of the treaty , " Australia " was one of the battlecruisers nominated for disposal to meet the British limit . The battlecruiser had to be made unusable for warlike activities within six months of the treaty ' s ratification , then disposed of by scuttling , as Australia did not have the facilities to break her up for scrap , and the British share of target ship s was taken up by Royal Navy vessels . This was the only time the Australian military has been affected by a disarmament treaty until the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning the use of anti - personnel mine s . Some equipment had been removed when " Australia " was decommissioned for use in other ships , but after the November 1923 decision by the Cabinet confirming the scuttling , RAN personnel and private contractors began to remove piping and other small fittings . Between November 1923 and January 1924 , £68 , 000 of equipment was reclaimed ; over half was donated to tertiary education centres ( some of which was still in use in the 1970s ) , while the rest was either marked for use in future warships , or sold as souvenirs . Some consideration was given to reusing " Australia " s 12 - inch guns in coastal fortifications , but this did not occur as ammunition for these weapons was no longer being manufactured by the British , and the cost of building suitable structures was excessive . It was instead decided to sink the gun turrets and spare barrels with the rest of the ship . There was also a proposal to remove " Australia " s conning tower and install it on the Sydney Harbour foreshore ; although this did not go ahead , the idea was later used when the foremast of was erected as a monument at Bradleys Head . The ship ' s outer starboard propeller is on display at the Australian War Memorial , while other artefacts are in the collections of the War Memorial , the Australian National Maritime Museum , and the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre . The scuttling was originally scheduled for Anzac Day ( 25 April ) 1924 , but was brought forward to 12 April , so the visiting British Special Service Squadron could participate . On the day of the sinking , " Australia " was towed out to a point north east of Sydney Heads . Under the terms of the Washington Treaty , the battlecruiser needed to be sunk in water that was deep enough to make it infeasible to refloat her at a future date . The former flagship was escorted by the Australian warships " Melbourne " , " Brisbane " , " Adelaide " , " Anzac " , and " Stalwart " , the ships of the Special Service Squadron , and several civilian ferries carrying passengers . Many personnel volunteered to be part of the scuttling party , but only those who had served aboard her were selected . At 14 : 30 , the scuttling party set the charges , opened all seacock s , and cleared the ship . Explosive charges blew a hole in the hull a few minutes later , but it took 20 minutes for the intake of water to bring holes cut in the battlecruiser ' s upper flanks to the waterline . The angle of list increased significantly , causing the three spare 12 - inch barrels lashed to the deck to break free and roll overboard , before " Australia " inverted completely and began to sink stern - first . " Australia " submerged completely at 14 : 51 ; a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft dropped a wreath where the warship had sunk , while " Brisbane " fired a rolling 21 - gun salute . The wreck was gazetted as being at , below . However , there were discrepancies with other sources , and the exact location of " Australia " was unknown . There are two schools of thought surrounding the decision to scuttle the battlecruiser . The first is that sinking " Australia " was a major blow to the nation ' s ability to defend herself . Following the battlecruiser ' s scuttling , the most powerful warships in the RAN were four old light cruisers . The battlecruiser had served as a deterrent to German naval action against Australia during the war , and with growing tensions between Japan and the United States of America , that deterrence may have been required if the nations became openly hostile towards each other or towards Australia . The opposing argument is that , while an emotive and symbolic loss , the ship was obsolete , and would have been a drain on resources . Operating and maintaining the warship was beyond the capabilities of the RAN ' s post - war budgets , necessitating the ship ' s reduction in status in 1920 and assignment to reserve in 1921 . Ammunition and replacement barrels for the main guns were no longer manufactured . To remain effective , " Australia " required major modernisation ( including new propulsion machinery , increased armour and armament , and new fire control systems ) at a cost equivalent to a new . In 1990 , a large , unknown shipwreck was encountered by the Furgo Seafloor Surveys vessel MV " Moana Wave 1 " while surveying the path of the Pacific Rim West Submarine Telecommunications Cable . One of the survey ship ' s crew theorised that the wreck , located at in of water , was " Australia " , but Furgo kept the information to themselves until 2002 , when the company ' s Australian branch mentioned the discovery during a conference . This piqued the interest of a member of the New South Wales Heritage Office ( now the Heritage Branch of the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage ) requested copies of the company ' s data . The size and location of the ship pointed towards it being " Australia " , but the depth meant verification through inspection could only be achieved with a remote operated vehicle ( ROV ) . The RAN was approached in 2007 for assistance , but although they supported the project , the RAN did not have the equipment to assist . In March 2007 , the United States Navy loaned the deep - sea ROV " CURV - 21 " to the Australian Government , to locate and recover a Black Hawk helicopter which crashed during the Australian response to the 2006 Fijian coup d ' état . While en route back to Australia , the ROV , carried aboard Defence Maritime Services vessel , was directed to Furgo ' s coordinates at the request of the NSW Heritage Office to verify and inspect the wreck . Video footage captured by the ROV allowed the NSW Heritage Office to confirm that the wreck was " Australia " by matching features like the superstructure and masts to historical photographs . Although initially sinking stern - first , the battlecruiser levelled out as she sank , with the aft mast the first to strike the bottom . After hitting the seabed , " Australia " slid about to her final resting place . The wreck site is protected under the federal " Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 " .