HMAS Hobart Lookout

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Located just five minutes' drive from Normanville, the HMAS Hobart lookout is a scenic site commemorating two vessels and the men who served in them. The first vessel was a cruiser and the second vessel was a destroyer, both named HMAS Hobart.



As a modified Leander Class light cruiser, HMAS Hobart I was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy in 1938. She withstood severe bombings during World War II, and, on one occasion, was attacked thirteen times in a day! She also proudly took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea as a covering force for the United States aircraft carriers. Unfortunately, in July 1943, she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and suffered considerable damage. However, she was back operating again in Brunei and Balikpapan after undergoing extensive repairs. At the end of her career, she was sold to a Japanese firm for £186,886. Ironic, don't you think?



HMAS Hobart II , though, was an improved Charles F Adams Class guided missile destroyer commissioned in 1965. She was deployed three times to fight in the Vietnam War. During these deployments, she served as part of the United States Seventh Fleet. She also supported the United States Marine and Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Closer to home, she was involved in clearing and rehabilitation tasks in Darwin following the devastating Cyclone Tracy. Her distinguished career ended after 34 years of service when she was decommissioned in May 2000. She was later scuttled here at Yankalilla Bay on the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula.



The HMAS Hobart lookout is a lasting memorial to these two ships and their crew. It has ample off-road parking, as well as picnic tables, which makes it a perfect place for a brief stopover en route to Cape Jervis.

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