Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00053:body:0:p52
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00053
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 139787–145761

establishment of maritime activities during the 1840s culminating in the construction of Fitzroy Dock 1851-57 under Gother Kerr Mann, one of Australia's foremost nineteenth century engineers; and the construction of twelve in-ground grain silos following a government order that provision would be made to store 10,000 bushels of grain on the island.
The dockyard's lengthy 134 years of operation and its significance during both world wars, and in Australia's naval development and service as the Commonwealth dockyard, all contribute to its outstanding value to the nation. It is the only surviving example of a 19th century dockyard in Australia to retain some of the original service buildings including the pump house and machine shop. The powerhouse, constructed in 1918, contains the most extensive collection of early Australian electrical, hydraulic power and pumping equipment in Australia.                                                                                                                                                                                                              The subsequent development of shipbuilding and dockyard facilities has clearly been in response to Federation in 1901, when the New South Wales government took over management of the island; the formation of the Royal Australian Navy in 1911; and the Commonwealth Government's purchase of the island in 1913. The first steel warship built in Australia, HMAS Heron, was completed on the island in 1916.
The surviving fabric relating to convict administration which includes; the prisoners' barracks, hospital, mess hall, military guard and officers' room, free overseers' quarters and the superintendent's cottage. Evidence of convict hard labour includes the sandstone buildings, quarried cliffs, the underground silos and the Fitzroy Dock.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 During World War Two, Cockatoo Island became the primary shipbuilding and dockyard facility in the Pacific following the fall of Singapore. Post war development of the facility reflects the importance of the island facility to the Commonwealth Government.
Cockatoo Island's dockyard, through its contribution to Australia's naval and maritime history, demonstrates outstanding significance to the nation. Fitzroy Dock is the oldest surviving dry dock in Australia operating continuously for over 134 years (1857-1991). The dockyard has direct associations with the convict era, Australia's naval relationship with its allies (particularly Britain during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) and Australia's naval development, especially during the First and Second World Wars. Cockatoo Island's development into Australia's primary shipbuilding facility and Australia's first Naval Dockyard for the RAN (1913-1921) further demonstrates its outstanding importance in the course of Australia's history.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Criterion b: Rarity
Criterion b: Rarity                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Cockatoo Island is the only surviving Imperial convict public works establishment in New South Wales. Individual elements of the convict Public Works Department period include the rock cut grain silos, the Prisoners Barracks and Mess Hall 1839-42, the Military Guard House, the Military Officers Quarters and Biloela House c1841.
N/A                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The range of elements associated with the shipbuilding and dockyard facility date from