Garden Island, Sydney, the RAN’s main base, was joined to the mainland by coffer-dams in the course of the building of the Captain Cook Graving Dock. A temporary road laid on the earth fill supporting the dams was known as the “Burma Road”.
Lt. Richard Saunders RANVR commanded Royal Navy MTB 44 and attacked Prinz Eugen during Operation Cerberus when German Naval vessels traversed the Dover Straits on their way from France to Germany. After the attack the MTB also rescued Sub Lts. Lee and Rose after their Swordfish aircraft was shot down attacking the German vessels. Saunders was awarded the DSC for the attack.