HMAS Adelaide (I)

HMAS Adelaide (I) was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), named after Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. Laid down in 1915, wartime shortages and design modifications meant the ship was not completed until 1922.

Adelaide served with the Royal Navy’s Special Service Squadron during 1924 and 1925, and was involved in the 1927 Malaita massacre. She was decommissioned in 1928, but was modernised and returned to service just before World War II began. During the war, Adelaide was involved in successful efforts to secure the colony of New Caledonia for Free France, was present during the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour, and intercepted the German blockade runner Ramses.

The cruiser was decommissioned in 1946, and broken up for scrap in 1949.

As a memorial to the ship the main-mast was erected alongside the Sphinx Memorial in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Sydney, in about 1950. An information plaque with a diagram of the ship was installed nearby. One of the cruiser’s 6-inch guns was found at a rubbish tip in Victoria; this was restored, then placed on display at HMAS Cerberus, Victoria. The ship’s bell is in the Spice Lounge restaurant in Exmouth.

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