Figure 1.--Here we see Australian Navy League Sea Cadets working at Schnapper Island during 1937. Schnapper is near Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbor in New South Wales. It is the smallest island in the harbor. The islabd was used by the cadets during the 1930s, we yhink because it was less expensive than using a ship, but the small size of the island and shape made it similar to a ship.

Naval cadet groups were founded in the early-20th century. Although an island nation, Australian interest in naval matters was at first very limited. This prsumably derived from the complacency resulting from the dominstion of the British Royal Navy during the 19th century. Several different groups founded cadet or related groups. The first naval cadet program was established by the Church of England, in part because they operated schools (1901). Naval cadet programs were first officially recognised under the Naval Defence Act (1910). The Sea cadets prior to 1973 the organisation was known as the Australian Sea Cadet Corps, and was jointly administered by the Royal Australian Navy and the Navy League of Australia. After 1973, the Royal Australian Navy assumed full responsibility for the Corps. It was merged with rival groups and renamed the Naval Reserve Cadets. The Australian Government after assessing the program changed the name again to Australian Navy Cadets (2001).

Royal Australian Naval Reserve

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) sponsored sea cadet groups. This has been done by both the RAN and the RAN Reserve (RANR). This began with the founding of the Australian Naval Cadet Corps (ANCC) 1907. The RANR took over the program (1950).

Australian Navy League Sea Cadet Corps (1920-72)

The Australian Navy Cadets (ANC) was founded in part by the Navy League of Australia (NLA) as the Sea Cadet Corps (SCC). The Navy League is a private organisation and advocacy group set up in in Australia to foment interest in maritime and naval matters, especially and interest in establishing the importance of and public support for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Australian Merchant Navy. Australia was an island colony with a developing economy based on exporting raw materials. Naval matters were thus of some importance. Yet there was little interest in the Navy among many Australians. They tended to see naval affairs as the the privince of the British and te Royal Navy. The Navy League of Australia was established as the Australian branch of the United Kingdom Navy League (November 1900). Australia's Naval League was organized with state-level branches. A federal governming body was created (1939). The World War II experience shocked Australians, especially the inability of the Roiyal Navy to protect the country, and essentially broke the umbilical cord with Britain. The NLA as the Dominion increasingly moved toward independence began to operate independently of the British Naval League from which it was founded (1950). The NLA's principal goal was to promote the idea among the public that Australia required a strong naval miliitary force and merchant navy. They also sought to support industries that are needed for a navy and merchant marine such as shipyards. One of their efforts was to focus on young people as part of their efforts to develop public interest in naval affairs. The Seas Cadet program began after World War I. The New South Wales branch was the first to found a Sea Cadet unit (1920). They called it the Navy League Sea Cadet Corps. The boys wore Royal Australian Navy style uniforms. Here we see them working on Schnapper Island during 1937 (Figure 1). The Corps named King George VI as their commanding the Admiral during World War II (1942). The Royal Australian Navy was substantially expanded during World war II. Sea Cadet programs helped provide sailors with nautical skills. The SCC operated until 1973. At that time the Sea Cadet Corps was merged with the rival organisation operated by the RAN Reserve to form the Australian Naval Cadets (ANC). Although the ANC was operated by the RAN, the NLA continued to support and assist the ANC.

Other Groups

Several other groups have sponsored a variety of sea cadet programs. The Church of England sponsored the Boys Naval Brigades in Victoria (1901-11). The Church of England got involvdd because they operated schools. A related program is the Australian Sea Scouts, a Boy Scout program.

Australian Navy Cadets

The Navy League and Defence cadets merged into one unit, the Naval Reserve Cadets (NRC) (1972-73). The name was changed to the Australian Navy Cadets (2001). It is part of the larger Australian Defence Force Cadet program administered by the Ministry of Defense.

Created: 11:44 PM 10/29/2011
Last updated: 11:44 PM 10/29/2011