Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00053:body:0:p44
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00053
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 113795–116900

influence of the long period of dockyard industrial, maritime and Defence uses. This physical dominance is the surviving result of the long term national, international and State and Federal Government investment in, and understanding of, the economic and strategic importance of Cockatoo Island's dockyard, industrial, maritime and Defence uses for Australia.
Parallel with, and related to, its premier position in Australia's dockyard, industrial, maritime and Defence history, Cockatoo Island operated as an engineering enterprise which developed and implemented standards of excellence which set best practice benchmarks throughout the country. It was Australia's largest post-World War I Commonwealth employer, and the complexity of its union and guild membership, and the history of its demarcation and industrial disputes, catalysed the Federal Government to establish the first Federal wage and conditions award in Australia and apply it to the Island. The Federal award established to consolidate and organise Cockatoo Island was the model for many subsequent Federal awards which have operated alongside various state award systems in Australia until very recently.
Cockatoo Island's dockyard, industrial, maritime and Defence use history reflects in one place, and through its retained form and fabric, the Federalisation of previous state activities and enterprises, an occurrence that was experienced throughout Australia after Federation.
Once state land and the location of mixed state/private activities, its strategic location, established uses, valuable improvements and skilled labour force were resumed by the Commonwealth for national purposes under emergency provisions in a time of national need.The Commonwealth retained its ownership of those enterprises following the First World War and, by that retention, ensured it had the primary and central determining role in large engineering and maritime industries in Australia throughout the twentieth century. Retaining that primacy was an essential part of ensuring Australia's defence needs were properly met according to Commonwealth, not state or private, priorities. This priority status became critical during the Pacific War effort from 1942, when Cockatoo Island was used to repair and re-fit various ships and vessels for the RAN, Royal Navy and the US and was, at different times, the location for the construction of HMAS Sydney and HMAS Melbourne.
Cockatoo Island's dockyard, industrial, maritime and Defence uses were developed for the nation and in the national interest and were of vital importance to Australia for over 100 years. The surviving elements of those uses on the Island today, in particular the docks, remnant equipment, warehouse and industrial buildings and a range of cranes, wharves, slipways and jetties which illustrate the materials, construction techniques and technical skills employed in the construction of shipbuilding and dockyard facilities, remain important to Australia as an integral and irreplaceable part of its national cultural heritage.

World Heritage Listing
Cockatoo Island is one