For the Anzac Ship Project — which built the ten Anzac class frigates for the Royal Australian and Royal New Zealand Navies — a tradition carried across for each ship were a ceremonial axe and block.
Performed during each launch, the axe and block were used to cut a rope that released a frigate into the water beyond the drydock. A different person was chosen for each occasion and the honour fell to a wide group of individuals, from the project’s youngest apprentice to its longest-serving employee.
At the completion of the Anzac Ship Project, the axe and block were gifted to the Royal Australian Navy and are proudly displayed at its heritage centre in Sydney, New South Wales.
Upon presenting them to navy officials, Eamon Sweeney — General Manager of Shipbuilding at the time — said, “On our thanks and behalf receive this as a memento of the program. There’s a lot of memories in that block.”
The axe and block symbolise something much bigger than just launching a ship into its natural element.
With a contract signed on 10 November 1989, Victoria’s Williamstown Dockyard delivered nearly one Anzac class frigate per year between 1996 and 2006: HMAS Anzac, Arunta, Warramunga, Stuart, Paramatta, Ballarat, Toowoomba and Perth for Australia and HMNZS Te Kaha and Te Mana for New Zealand.
It was the country’s largest maritime project at the time creating nearly 8,000 jobs, involving 3,000 SMEs from across the ANZAC nations and contributing $3 billion in gross domestic product for Australia. Figure has not been adjusted for inflation.
Those frigates have gone onto have distinguished careers, spanning nearly 30 years, in the defence of Australia and New Zealand. They’ve sailed all over the world representing Australia’s interests, supporting allies and providing humanitarian aid in times of crisis.
The Anzac Ship Project truly was a nationwide endeavour with a legacy that will endure.
BAE Systems Australia shares that history with the Anzac class frigates, first constructing the ships in Williamstown to sustaining them throughout their service life, with HMAS Anzac being decommissioned in 2024.
In 2018, the business began work on the next generation of frigate, the Hunter class, that will deliver a world-leading anti-submarine warfare capability. The ships are being constructed at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia and will create a workforce of 5,000 employees across the whole supply chain at its peak.
This scale of work will also be represented in the program’s ceremonial traditions that will launch each of the six Hunter class frigates from the early 2030s.
This content is in celebration of Navy Week 2025 and looks back at the collaborative history between BAE Systems Australia and the Royal Australian Navy.