18th August 1967 - 14th May 1999
The motto said it all - "Nothing to Difficult" which many often misread as "Nothing, too Difficult".HMAS Platypus was designed and built to provide base support for the six '0' Class submarines of the Royal Australian Navy. The base was built on ground which was formerly part of the Royal Australian Naval Torpedo Establishment in Neutral Bay, Sydney.
Unfortunately "Plats" has gone, and so has the relationships and sense of being that your own home provides. The submarines now operate from HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, not as a separate entity, but with the skimmers.
HMAS Platypus holds many memories, both good and bad, for Australian (and some RN) submariners (and the occasional skimmer that serviced and supported us) that served there over the years.
Visit Up Periscope to read the Platypus story and history, just follow this link.
Over it's lifetime the site on which Platypus sat was contaminated by heavy metals, fuels and submariners and it was necessary to decontaminate the site before it could be made available to the public. To get the full story on the remediation of the site and it's future visit the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust website at this link.
The latest updates appear below:
Renewal Project Update Oct 2017
The Harbour Trust has approved the Renewal Project for Sub Base Platypus which will provide new public open space, improved access and refurbished buildings, enabling the site to be opened to the public for the first time in 150 years. Please find attached a notification letter which provides more information. Further details about the Renewal Project, including a summary of the Harbour Trust’s consideration of issues, and conditions of approval, are available online here .
