The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Established in 1901, the RAN was formed out of the Commonwealth Naval Forces to become the small navy of Australia after federation, consisting of the former colonial navies of the new Australian states. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom continued to provide blue-water defence in the Pacific until World War II, when expansion of the RAN saw the acquisition of aircraft carriers, and other large surface vessels.
See more at Wikipedia.org...