NAVAL WIRELESS /TELEGRAPHY STATION CANBERRA
LATER HMAS HARMAN (RECEIVING STATION)
NEAR CANBERRA, ACT
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WWII

In 1924, the Communications Sub-committee of the Imperial Defence Committee recommended that the coast radio stations at Perth, Darwin, Townsville and Rabaul should be updated to ensure effective modern naval wireless facilities in the Pacific area. In 1925 the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board recommended that strategic wireless stations should be established at Canberra and Darwin. Canberra was approximately 72 miles inland thus affording protection from attack by enemy naval forces. In 1935 the Minister for Defence stated that the Canberra Wireless Station would "make it possible to communicate with British Merchant Fleet shipping in any part of the world".

In 1937 the Australian Government finally decided to erect naval transmitting and receiving stations in Canberra. On 1 October 1937, the Director of Signals and the Department of the Interior and Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd. visited possible sites in the Canberra area. A site for the transmitting station was chosen near Ginninderra Creek in the Belconnen district and the top of Red Hill was chosen for the receiving station. AWA was requested to test the suitability of the two sites. On 6 September 1938, AWA gave the tick of approval for the transmitting site but the proposed receiving site on the top of Red Hill was changed to an outlying area half way to Queanbeyan which later became HMAS Harman.

The Brisbane Telegraph of Tuesday 11 April 1939 stated:-

"Commander J. B. Newman, R.A.N., has been appointed Officer-in-Command of the stations as a whole. Mr. Street added Telegraphists Lieutenant A. D. McLachlan, M.B.E. will be in charge of the receiving station, and Warrant Telegraphist S. J. Willmetts will be in charge of the transmitting station."

.....

"Built about 11 miles away (from Belconnen), in order to avoid interference with reception from the large transmitters, is the receiving station Harman - which is situated on the main Canberra - Queanbeyan road. Here again wooden cottages  may be seen in various stages of construction and, further back, a brick building to house the receivers. This equipment is also being supplied by Standard Telephones and Cable Ltd., at a cost of about £6,000 and will be installed by August."

"Until the houses are completed the officers and ratings will be billeted in Canberra."

The Melbourne Argus of 12 April 1939 stated:-

"The new radio station (Belconnen and Harman) will have five transmitters and receivers, one of which will maintain direct contact with the British Admiralty. Another will provide communications with the Naval forces of Singapore and New Zealand. A third will direct the Australian Naval forces, a fourth will co-operate with a similar stations at Darwin (Coonawarra), and the fifth will be held in reserve."

Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd. began construction of HMAS Belconnen in November 1938 and HMAS Harman in early 1939. The Canberra Times dated 17 April 1939 stated as follows:-

"The first batch of 30 naval officers and ratings to operate and guard the powerful short wave radio base at Canberra will arrive next Monday. They will form the advance guard of 200 men who will occupy the two naval villages established on either side of Canberra, eleven miles apart. The base will be the most powerful naval wireless station in the British Empire, and the largest naval or commercial radio station in the southern hemisphere."

The name Harman was devised by a combination of the names of two senior naval officers, Commander Neville Harvey, RN Director of Signals, and his Assistant Director in the RAN, Commander Jack B. Newman. There were about 30 buildings located at Harman. The masts at Harman were not as high as those at the transmitting station at Belconnen and the general equipment less expensive.

NAA Plan

Plan of HMAS Harman

On 28 April 1941, the original fourteen females who had been trained by Florence V. McKenzie arrived at Harman and were enrolled as telegraphists. They wore their green WESC uniforms. Technically they were still civilians at this stage. They arrived by car at Harman on 28 April and were met by Commander Jack Newman and Lt. Commander A. D. McLachlan MBE. The ladies were allocated three cottages, with two to a bedroom. A fourth cottage was used as the mess and sleeping quarters for the two volunteer cooks, WR13 Shirley Isobel Drew and WR14 Elsie Lillian Colless. Once they had unloaded all their belongings they were addressed by Commander Jack Newman in the Recreation Hall.

Photo:- AWM P01262.308

Still wearing their Women's Emergency Signalling Corps (WESC)
uniform are left to right:- WR11 Judy Alley, WR10 Joan Cade,
 WR12 Jess Prain, WR11 Daphne Wright, WR8 Joan Hodges,
 WR6 June McLeod. (Donor M. Taylor)

Photo:- AWM 009210

Four WRANS share one cottage with two bedrooms, dining room, sitting
room, kitchen, bathroom and laundry. The ladies did their own gardening.

On their first night at Harman they had trouble with their hot water supply which was supplied by chip heaters. None of them had seen a chip heater before and they had no idea how they worked. Petty Officer Penniquick who lived in a cottage near them shouted instructions over the back fence on how to fix the problem. All the men at Harman were under strict orders not to enter the ladies' back or front gardens for fear of being immediately drafted to sea.

The following day Petty Officer Penniquick commenced instruction with the 14 ladies. Unaware of their capability he started to send morse code at 10 words per minute (wpm). As they all had no problems reading his signals, he increased to 15wpm and this also did not prove a challenge for the ladies. He decided to transmit as fast as he could and most of the ladies were able to read all his transmission thanks to the training by Mrs. Florence McKenzie. He was very pleased and started to share funny stories about the Navy.

An early problem encountered by the ladies was the fact that all the sailors at Harman would always salute them. They shared their concern with the Commanding Officer Lt. Commander McLachlan. He told them that they were saluting them as women. So the ladies asked him to tell the men that they were ratings, not women.

On 1 October 1941 they were sworn into the Royal Australian Navy as enlisted personnel. This was the start of the WRANS. The fourteen ladies were as follows:-

WR1 Frances Betty Provan
WR2 Joan Louise Paget Furley
WR3 Patricia Ross
WR4 Denise Culver Owen
WR5 Marion Stevens
WR6 June Margaret MacLeod
WR7 Daphne Mary Wright
WR8 Jess Scott Prain
WR9 Ethel Joan Cade
WR10 Joan Muriel Hodges
WR11 Sylvia Violette "Billie" Thompson
WR12 Judith Purchase Alley
WR13 Shirley Isobel Drew - volunteer cook
WR14 Elsie Lillian Colless - volunteer cook

It was four months before their new WRANS uniforms arrived.

On 16 December 1941, WR8 Jess Scott Prain sent a message to all ships that Australia was at war with Japan.

The site was commissioned as HMAS Harman on 1 July 1943.

Stations that Harman (VHP) and Molonglo communicated with were:-

GYC  Whitehall
VWF Bombay Fort
GZH Colombo Fort
GYL Singapore
PKC Base Ships Batavia
VIXO Exmouth Gulf
NPO Cavite
VHM Darwin (Coonawarra)
VIG6 Port Moresby (PMG)
VHK Belconnen
ZLO Waiouru (New Zealand)
NPM Pearl Harbor
CKL Esquimalt
VHB Bells
VHM Coonawarra
VIP Perth
ZLP Wellington (New Zealand)

The Canberra Times of Tuesday 27 February 1940 reported that the personnel of Harman and Belconnen had formed a combined Canteen Committee with a view to developing sports facilities at the two stations. They had hoped to arrange social tennis games with Canberra Tennis Clubs during the coming season. They held their inaugural dance at the Hotel Civic on Friday 15 March 1940 to raise funds to kick start the new committee.

His Excellency, the Governor-General, Lord Gowrie attended by his Military and Official Secretary, Captain Leighton Seymour Bracegirdle, inspected the naval stations at Harman and Belconnen on 29 May 1940.

Photo:- AWM P05343.003

Entrance to HMAS Harman - note the
RAN & USA Flags - date about 1944/45

Photo:- AWM P00361.003

WRANS working in the Wireless Telegraphy Room at Harman in about 1941

Photo:- AWM 009233

WRANS working in the Wireless Telegraphy Room at Harman on 27 August1941

Photo:- AWM P01262.307

WRANS partaking in Drill Practice at Harman in about 1941

Photo:- AWM P00361.004

Pay Parade for WRANS at Harman in about 1941

Photo:- AWM P00361.005

RAN and WRANS personnel on parade at Harman - date unknown.
Their accommodation cottages can be seen in the background.

Photo:- AWM P00784.043

WRANS queue in a dining room at Harman Naval
Wireless Telegraphy Station in about 1941

Photo:- AWM P00361.007

WRANS writing letters in their Recreation
Hut at Harman in about 1941

Photo:- AWM P00361.009

US Navy sailors and WRANS coming off Watch at Harman in about 1941

Photo:- AWM P05343.001

US Navy radio operators at HMAS Harman, Left to Right:- Zierow,
Montgomery, Stroop, Swift, John Stir, Tom Togletson, Radioman
2nd Class (RM2C) John Allen Frazier and Girard. Photo 1944.

Mr Frazier said that when he was stationed at HMAS Harman, the US Navy operated two circuits, one a duplex with US Navy Honolulu and US Navy San Francisco, and the other with Noumea. "We were the only unit that used the Royal Australian Navy callsign VHC, and I recall that the US Flag flew at the gangway with the White Ensign while our contingent was posted here."

Not sure if these USN radio operators ran an intercept operation for the FRUMEL codebreakers in Melbourne.

Photo:- AWM P05343.002

Six radio operators of United States Navy 14, Section 1
stationed at HMAS Harman. Identified, left to right,
back row:- Preusica, Flicky and Frankie Graziadi.
Front row: Young, Van Cure and Husky.

On 8 February 1945, the Duchess of Gloucester accompanied the Governor-General on a tour of inspection of HMAS Harman. The Duchess, as Commandant of the WAAAF, wore her light-coloured skirt and jacket and the royal blue peaked hat. Executive Officer, Third Officer Frances Provan, accompanied the Duchess throughout the inspection. Frances Provan was assisted by the only other WRANS officers, Enid Cooper and Jess Prain. Third Officer Prain was the only naval wireless instructor and had been at Harman for four years. Third Officer Cooper was Confidential Books Officer at Harman. Others assisting during the visit were Leading Telegraphist Marjory Greet and Leading Regulation WRANS Dorothy Martin. Two other WRANS who played an official part were leading Teleprinter Operator Sue Carleton, who opened the door of the Royal car for the Duke, and Leading Telegraphist Joan Collard who helped the Duchess alight from the car. The Duke and Duchess talked informally with the RAN and WRANS officers and met the only two officer's wives at Harman, Mrs. McLachlan, wife of the commanding officer and Mrs. Cranston, wife of Lieutenant Cranston.

The Fourth Victory Loan rally of Navy personnel took place at HMAS Harman on Wednesday 17 October 1945. Local artists took part in community singing. Speakers included Mr. S. R. Rhodes of the Trades and Labour Council, who was a member of the ACT Loan Campaign Committee. Mr. Rex Morrisby compered the Rally.

REFERENCES

"Ships Belles" by Shirley Fenton Huie

"Slipstream" Fleet Air Arm Association of Australia Inc., March 2018

Can anyone help me with more information?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 1 April 2022

This page last updated 03 April 2022