Australian Army Mariners MemorialPrint Page

The monument commemorates the Australian Army Mariners who have died in service or been killed in action in the various conflicts in which Australia has been involved. It was originally erected to conduct the Dawn Service at the site. 

In 1985, the then Commander, Major Ralph Pridmore, designed and built the present Memorial using sandstone from the East Gosford area. The mines on either side of the Memorial are original mines from the Submarine Miners era, while the anchor mounted on the front comes from a World War Two Army 300 ton wooden cargo vessel. One of the two bronze plaques on the front of the Memorial dedicates it to fallen comrades, and the other marks the military occupation of Chowder Bay from 1890 until its departure in 1997. Of the two bronze plaques laid in front of the Memorial one is dedicated to the Australian Army Water Transport, RAE, AIF, and the other is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant Colonel Jim (Haggis) Wilson MBE, the first commander of 32 Small Ship Squadron, Royal Australia Engineers (RAE).

In 1889, Chowder Bay was selected as the site for a Submarine Mining Depot because of the nearby fortifications and accommodation, storage, training and operational facilities were erected. The Mining Corps was responsible for maintaining an electrically triggered minefield within the Harbour as a defence against enemy ships. This “Submarine Mining” was an advanced form of military technology, representing the earliest use of electricity for defence purposes. Mines were strung across the harbour and were operational by 1894 but were never fired in anger. The development of submarines made such minefields redundant and in 1922 the Submarine Mining Corps was disbanded.  Chowder Bay next became a depot and barracks for the Royal Australia Engineers until 1939 when it was occupied by the School of Military Engineering’s Anti-Aircraft and Fortress Wing and, from 1943, the School’s Maritime Transport Wing. By 1944, the RAE Transportation Centre workshops and the 2nd Ordnance Smallcraft were here. Chowder Bay became the Army Maritime School from the 1970s until 1997 when the school moved to Townsville​.

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