Department of the Navy (Australia)

The Department of the Navy is a former Australian federal government department. Originally created on 12 July 1915 to replace the Navy Office within the Department of Defence, its functions included responsibility for naval defence, bases, dockyards, works, and wireless telegraphy, as well as the construction and repair of vessels for government departments, including the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). However, the department was absorbed into the Department of Defence on 21 December 1921. A new Department of the Navy was created on 13 November 1939 following the outbreak of the Second World War, and it assumed control of the administration and finance of the RAN from the Department of Defence. The department was again abolished by the Whitlam government on 30 November 1973 when the single service departments were once again amalgamated, with its role assumed by the Navy Office within the Department of Defence.