Cairns Naval Base 
Satellite and aerial maps of HMAS Cairns with nearby locations
| Nearby locations | Km | Bearing | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cairns Base Hospital , Queensland | 2.9 | 337 | YCBH |
| Cairns , Queensland | 6.1 | 335 | YBCS |
 Beck Collection, Mareeba , Queensland | 39.0 | 250 | |
| Mareeba , Queensland | 41.1 | 248 | YMBA |
| Atherton , Queensland | 45.7 | 218 | YATN |
| Atherton Hospital , Queensland | 48.3 | 220 | YXAT |
HMAS Cairns |
1971 to present | ||
| 16° 56' 8.4'' S 145° 46' 45'' E | ||
| Portsmith, Cairns, Queensland |
Originally opened in Jan 1971 at what is now the northern end of the current base, HMAS Cairns was commissioned on 1 Feb 1974 as a Patrol Boat base with Hydrographic Survey facilities. Expansion to the south, on the site of a WWII repair yard began in 1979 and completed with a re-commissioning in May 1982. Extensive work took place between 2008 and 2009 as part of a modernisation programme. 
List of aircraft and events at HMAS Cairns |
| Dates | Org/Type | Unit | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-may-27 | RAN | Leeuwin class | A246 HMAS Melville | ||||
| 2023-jul-06 | 2023-jul | RN | River (Batch 2) class | P226 HMS Spey | |||
