International Fleet Review 2013


The International Fleet Review 2013 was a review that took place on the week 3 to 11 October 2013, as part of the celebrations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the entry of the first Royal Australian Navy fleet in Sydney Harbour, on 4 October 1913.

Background

In 2011 the RAN invited over 50 nations to send a ship to participate in a fleet review to commemorate the centenary of the first entry in Sydney of the Australian Fleet. This event was considered a milestone in Australia’s maturity as a nation.
The event was planned in partnership with the New South Wales and the City of Sydney governments. The IFR was expected to have similar scale and public impact to that experienced during previous reviews held in Sydney, as the RAN 75th Anniversary and the Bicentennial Naval Salute. It was also confirmed that Prince Harry would attend the IFR as part of his first official visit to Australia.
Some 40 warships and 16 tall ships were expected to participate in the review, of which a line of seven RAN ships symbolised the 1913 entry itself. The ships were greeted by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, from Bradleys Head on 4 October. She and Prince Harry officially reviewed the fleet on 5 October as part of the Ceremonial Fleet Review.
The tall ships departed on 10 October, and the warships did so on 11 October to take part in the naval exercise Triton Centenary.

Associated events

In addition to the fleet review itself, the following events were scheduled to coincide with the IFR:
On 21 June 1913, the battlecruiser HMAS Australia was commissioned at Portsmouth, and sailed towards Australia on 25 July 1913 accompanied by the also new light cruiser HMAS Sydney. On 2 October 1913 both ships arrived at Jervis Bay, New South Wales, where the rest of the Australian fleet joined them: the protected cruiser Encounter, the light cruiser Melbourne, and the destroyers Parramatta, Warrego, and Yarra.
On 4 October 1913 the ships, led by Australia, entered Sydney Harbour in an event that was witnessed by thousands of sightseers around the harbour, amidst nationalistic euphoria.

Events planned for the week

A summary of the main events planned for the IFR 2013 week is listed below.
As of 2 October 2013, the following participants from about 20 nations were confirmed.

Warships

Participating naval bands included: