HMAS Coonawarra HMAS " Coonawarra " is a Royal Australian Navy base located in Darwin , Northern Territory and is home to twelve fleet units of the Royal Australian Navy . History . During World War I Darwin port had been used as a coaling station for naval ships , but it was not considered a naval base . Later , during the 1930s , the RAN constructed oil fuel tanks on the harbour front , holding about 90 , 000 tons of oil . All were destroyed in the Japanese attack on Darwin on 19 February 1942 . The first naval depot at Darwin was established in January 1935 . This was a naval reserve depot , commanded by Lieutenant Commander H . P . Jarrett . At this time , Darwin was part of the Naval Reserve District of Queensland . In 1937 , the Naval District of the Northern Territory was separated from the Queensland District , and the first District Naval Officer , Lieutenant Commander J . H . Walker , was appointed . In 1939 , under the recommendation of the Committee of Imperial Defence , a high - powered radio transmitter was constructed . The period leading up to World War II saw a build up of personnel , the establishment of fuelling facilities , a boom depot and later the Navy paid for improvements to Darwin ' s water supply in order to provide an adequate supply of water for visiting naval ships . At the outbreak of World War II , the Naval depot in Darwin was named HMAS " Penguin " , and on 1 August 1940 was formally commissioned as HMAS " Melville " . Throughout World War II , the Wireless Transmitting Station provided essential communications service in support of Allied Operations in the South West Pacific regions . The base suffered significant damage during the Japanese bombing raids on the city . After World War II , the base continued to be known as HMAS " Melville " . The development of Darwin during the 1950s and 1960s saw the size of " Melville " shrink , the problem was intensified by the continued growth of naval personnel in Darwin . It was decided to decommission " Melville " and relocate the RAN ' s Darwin base to naval Wireless Transmitting Station " Coonawarra " . Although the base was transferred over and commissioned at HMAS " Coonawarra " on 16 March 1970 , facilities at " Melville " remained operational until their destruction by Cyclone Tracy on 25 December 1974 . Over recent years " Coonawarra " has been expanded into a modern naval facility . Incidents . Early on 30 November 2012 an armed intruder stole fourteen firearms from an Armidale class patrol boat moored at the base . Two pump - action shotguns and twelve semi - automatic pistols were stolen . The balaclava clad intruder overwhelmed a crew member before using cable ties to restrain them . The firearms were all recovered on 1 December when the Major and Serious Crime Squad raided a Darwin city unit at about 2 : 30pm . One man was taken into custody . Facilities . The wharf can accommodate six vessels , berthed three abreast . Services such as fuel , electrical power , compressed air , sewerage out , oily waste suction , and defuelling is available at the berthing points . The facility has the capability to dock a vessel with a draught of up to two metres at any tide , is capable of lifting or lowering a vessel up to 750 tonnes at a rate of per minute , and is designed to withstand cyclones . Ships Stationed . Armidale class