World War II and beyond
During World War II Cockatoo Island was the main ship repair facility in the south-west Pacific. Some 250 ships were converted or repaired, including the Cunard liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. At the height of the conflict in the Pacific, the toll on allied shipping was considerable. In the eight months between August 1942 and March 1943, Cockatoo Island repaired four cruisers of the United States Navy: Chicago, Chester, Portland and New Orleans. Ships of the Royal Australian Navy were regular visitors.
The cruiser HMAS Hobart suffered torpedo damage in the New Hebrides and limped into Sydney in August 1943 for major repairs and modernisation. HMAS Australia, a veteran of the Battle of the Coral Sea, suffered kamikaze attacks in the Philippines in 1945 and steamed home for repairs.
After the war shipbuilding continued, as did the conversion of ships for a return to commercial service. Battle Class and Daring Class destroyers and anti-submarine frigates were constructed, along with the refitting and modernisation of many naval vessels.
In the 1960s Cockatoo Island constructed Empress of Australia, the largest roll-on roll-off cargo passenger ship in the world. The last ship constructed on the island was HMAS Success, the largest naval vessel built in Australia.
The refit of Oberon Class submarines was the main task of Cockatoo Island in the two decades to 1992 when the dockyard closed.
