HMAS Australia (1911)
Videos
HMAS Australia was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers built for the defence of the British Empire. Ordered by the Australian government in 1909, she was launched in 1911, and commissioned as flagship of the fledgling Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1913. Australia was the only capital ship ever to serve in the RAN.
HMAS Australia
Australia in a 1913 painting by Charles Edward Dixon
Australia's forward turret ('A') in 1918; note the port (i.e. left-side) wing turret in the background with a biplane on its roof
HMAS Australia on delivery in the UK in 1913
HMS New Zealand (1911)
Videos
HMS New Zealand was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers. Launched in 1911, the ship was funded by the government of New Zealand as a gift to Britain, and she was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1912. She had been intended for the China Station, but was released by the New Zealand government at the request of the Admiralty for service in British waters.
New Zealand in Australia, May 1919
Starboard elevation and deck plan as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual, 1915. Note: plan is of Invincible-class battlecruisers; the Indefatigable-class had a third superstructure element with 'P' & 'Q' turrets more widely spaced.
New Zealand's bell; this bell had previously been used on the battleship of the same name
![William Lionel Wylie, Tower House, Portsmouth [HMS “New Zealand” fitting out]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/William_Lionel_Wylie%2C_Tower_House%2C_Portsmouth%2C_1911_%288963703935%29.jpg/500px-William_Lionel_Wylie%2C_Tower_House%2C_Portsmouth%2C_1911_%288963703935%29.jpg)
William Lionel Wylie, Tower House, Portsmouth [HMS “New Zealand” fitting out]