HMAS Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship was laid down by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in England in 1911, launched in 1912 and commissioned in 1913. At the start of World War I, Melbourne was involved in attempts to locate the German East Asia Squadron, and participated in the capture of German colonies in the Pacific, before being assigned to the North America and West Indies Stations. In 1916, the cruiser joined the Grand Fleet in the North Sea, where she remained for the remainder of the war. Melbourne spent late 1919 and early 1920 in reserve, then was flagship of the Royal Australian Navy from 1920 until 1928, except for a second period in reserve during 1924 and 1925. HMAS Melbourne paid off in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1928, and was scrapped in 1929.
Design and construction
Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser. The ship had a standard displacement of 5,400 tons, was long overall and long between perpendiculars, had a beam of , a maximum draught of , and a mean draught of .
thumb|upright|left|Looking aft from top of foremast, showing four 6-inch guns
The cruiser's main armament consisted of eight BL Mk XI* 50 calibre guns. A single QF 12-pounder 8 cwt gun field gun, four QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss saluting guns were also carried.
The ship was laid down by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in England on 4 April 1911. The ship cost 405,000 pounds to build. On 1 June 1918, Melbourne launched her aircraft after sighting German aircraft over Heligoland Bight, but the pilot lost his target in the clouds.
thumb|left|Melbourne in [[dazzle camouflage in 1918. Melbourne was the only ship of the RAN to be painted in dazzle camouflage during World War I.]]
Melbourne stayed in Portsmouth until 7 March 1919, then sailed for Sydney via Suez, Singapore, and Darwin. In 1922, the ship rescued personnel from the sailing vessel Helen B. Sterling, which had been disabled in the Tasman Sea by a gale.