HMAS Harman HMAS " Harman " is a Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) communications and logistics facility . The main base is located in the Australian capital of Canberra , and is geographically recognised as the suburb of Harman ( postcode 2600 ) . Established in the late 1930s as the Royal Australian Navy Wireless / Transmitting Station Canberra , the facility was commissioned into the RAN as a stone frigate in 1943 . In addition to its communications and logistics roles , the base hosts reserve units from the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force , and cadet units from all three branches of the Australian Defence Force Cadets . History . In 1924 , the Imperial Defence Committee ' s Communications Sub - Committee examined Australian coastal radio stations , and recommended the modernisation of the stations at Darwin , Perth , Rabaul , and Townsville . A year later , the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board ( ACNB ) made a recommendation that two wireless stations be provided for the Navy in Canberra and Darwin . These would be strategic stations in addition to the coastal stations . Canberra was chosen as its distance from the coast would increase its protection from attack . Planning continued in 1935 , where a new Canberra station would add to the coverage area of Rugby , and function as a fall back in the event of the destruction of submarine cables , or the Hong Kong or Singapore wireless telegraphy stations . The Australian government decided to build a receiving and a transmitting station in Canberra in 1937 , with the transmitting station sited at Ginninderra Creek in Belconnen , approximately north - west of the main receiving facility . Construction of the transmission facility ( Royal Australian Navy Wireless / Transmitting Station Canberra ) commenced in November 1938 . The facility established on 20 April 1939 and started transmitting on 22 December 1939 . Work on the main facility started in early 1939 , with the facility registered with the Postmaster General ' s Department on 20 July 1939 under the name ' Harman ' . The name was derived from the surnames of the two officers responsible for naming the new naval stations : Commander Neville " Har " vey of the Royal Navy , and RAN Lieutenant Commander Jack Bolton New " man " . As the ACNB had paid little attention to the proposals for the names of previous wireless stations before implementing them , the two men proposed their combined names for the Canberra facility , which was accepted without comment . World War II commenced before the station was completed . Newman was promoted to Commander and assigned to command the Harman facility from when it opened until 1941 , when he was replaced as Officer - in - Charge . The station was commissioned into the RAN as the stone frigate HMAS " Harman " on 1 July 1943 . " Harman " provided radio coverage of the Pacific Ocean during the war , and provided communications intercepts for the FRUMEL signals intelligence unit . Women of the Women ' s Royal Australian Naval Service ( WRANS ) , formed in 1941 , operated the equipment . In addition to its communications role , HMAS " Harman " provides Navy administrative and logistic functions to all Navy personnel located in the Australian Capital Territory and southern New South Wales . The base also includes a tri - service " Multi - User Depot " . This depot hosts reserve units from the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force , and cadet units of the Australian Navy Cadets , Australian Army Cadets , and Australian Air Force Cadets . Facilities and functions . " Harman " . Initially , the facilities at " Harman " included Number One Receiving Station , which became the Communications Centre , an aerial farm behind the building , a direction finding hut located away on a ridge , cottages and guard houses . Later , Number Two Receiving station was built for ' special tasks ' , a recreation hall was opened 27 April 1941 , and a mess hall was finished around the end of 1940 . In 1943 , a second mess was built . The Morgan Dunbar Oval and Sir Victor Smith Oval are located in " Harman " . There are also tennis courts and a gymnasium . The base covers an area of . 970 people work at " Harman " , and 25 families are in permanent residence . Functions performed at HMAS Harman include : On 11 July 2013 , ex - CIA contractor and CIA employee Edward Snowden revealed documents which showed HMAS Harman , amongst three other locations in Australia and one in New Zealand , are amongst those used in the PRISM surveillance program conducted by various United States intelligence agencies . Bonshaw Receiving Station . About west of the main complex was the Bonshaw Receiving Station , in which watchkeepers listened for messages from ships on the High Frequency ( HF ) bands . This area was designated as a radio quiet zone . Belconnen Naval Transmitting Station . About north - west of " Harman " , the Belconnen Naval Transmitting Station was a sub - unit that maintained the corresponding HF and low frequency ( LF ) transmitting equipment , including the three masts for the 250 $ 4 , 44 kHz transmitter . The station was equipped with 40 kW and 10 kW HF transmitters that used a variety of antennas including rhombic , vertical monopole , and log - periodic antennas . The station was initially built with small cottages flanking the eastern side of the site , housing the electrical engineer - in - charge and the sailors who maintained the transmitters and antennas . These were removed in the late 1980s , although the mess building remained , with personnel moving into housing in the growing suburbs that gradually encroached on the site . The station ended transmissions on 1 June 2005 , and the remaining structures on the site were demolished in December 2006 to allow for residential development on the site , forming the new suburb of Lawson .