The Calliope Dock is a historical stone dry dock on the grounds of the Devonport Naval Base, in Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand. It was built in 1888 to service ships of the British Royal Navy, and is still in use today.
As built it measured 525 ft (160 m) by 110 ft (34 m), narrowing to 80 ft (24 m) at the gate. The water on the sill was 33 ft (10 m) deep. [1] It was extended in 1936, 1943 (to 185 m (607 ft)) and again in 1996. [2]
After it was found that the Auckland Graving Dock on the Auckland waterfront was too small to be an effective dry dock, work on the Calliope Dock began in December 1884, taking over three years to complete. [3] Among the 300 labourers who constructed the dock, many were Māori, and whare were constructed to the west of the dock as a temporary village. [3] The structure required 1.5 million bricks, which were made locally. [3]
The dock was officially opened in February 1888. [3] At the time of its construction, it was the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, and a strategic asset for the Royal Navy. It was named for Calliope Point, out of which it had been hewn by hand over three years. Coincidentally, one of the two first ships to enter it (as a show of her capacity) was HMS Calliope. [3] Administered at first by the Auckland Harbour Board, by 1899 the dock and wharf had become underused and needed widescale maintenance. [3] The Board struck a deal with the Royal Navy for primary use of the dock. [3] This led to the Auckland naval base moving from Torpedo Bay to Devonport, into a swamp area next to the dock. [4] [5] [6]
After World War I, the Royal Navy expanded the facilities in the area, including work to extend the dock and create more workshops to service the fleet. [3] On 26 February 1987, the Royal New Zealand Navy (the successor to the Royal Navy in New Zealand) purchased the dock from the Harbour Board for $650,000. [3]
Devonport is a harbourside suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the North Shore, at the southern end of a peninsula that runs southeast from near Lake Pupuke in Takapuna, forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. East of Devonport lies North Head, the northern promontory guarding the mouth of the harbour.
The North Shore is part of the large urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the north of the Waitematā Harbour. To the east, has the Hauraki Gulf, to the west, is West Auckland, to the south, has the Waitematā Harbour and Central Auckland, to the north has the Hibiscus Coast. From 1989 until 2010, North Shore City was an independent city within the Auckland Region, until it was incorporated into the Auckland Council.
Royal Navy Dockyards were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial complexes in Britain.
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Devonport Naval Base is the home of the Royal New Zealand Navy, located at Devonport, New Zealand on Auckland's North Shore. It is currently the only base of the navy that operates ships, and has been in use as a navy base since 1841. The base consists of HMNZS Philomel, the Fleet Support Organisation, and the Fleet Personnel and Training Organisation.
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Her Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. The largest naval base in Western Europe, HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth, England.
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Coordinates: 36°49′49″S174°47′10″E / 36.830241°S 174.786236°E