Dubbed a stone frigate, HMCS Star is a land-based naval establishment for training part-time sailors as well as functioning as a local recruitment centre for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).

During the Rebellions of 1837, a naval militia from Hamilton led by Canadian loyalist Sir Allan McNab and Royal Navy Captain Andrew Drew, ignited a diplomatic crisis known as the Caroline Affair, when a group of Hamiltonians captured the Canadian rebel supply vessel, SS Caroline, allegedly killing an American crew member and then setting fire to the ship before sending it over Niagara Falls.

[6] Fearing invasion from the United States, seven years later on 31 January 1862, the Hamilton Volunteer Naval Company was stood up under the command of Captain Thomas Harbottle and Lieutenant George P.

[4][7] With the American Civil War ending, in 1866 the Hamilton Naval Brigade was called out on short periods of active duty guarding the city and manning steamboats in response to Fenian cross-border raids.

[8][9] Two years later, with the passage of a Militia Act of 1868, the Naval Companies of Garden Island, Toronto, Hamilton, Dunnville and Port Stanley were requested to signal their intention to remain in active service.

[17][18] By the time the UNTD program was shut down in 1968, over 7,800 reserve officers were commissioned, of which 500 had trained at Star; and of whom 53 lost their lives during the Second World War.

[19] On 1 February 1943, the Department of National Defence purchased 2.04 hectares (5.0 acres) near Eastwood Park from the City of Hamilton to accommodate the growing unit.

The Distinguished Service Medal was awarded to Chief Petty Officer Donald Portree, Torpedoman Dan Gearing and Signaller Eugine Tobin.

[23] In June 1949, a party of sailors from the unit made a visit to former RCN corvettes being readied to be scrapped at Hamilton's steel mills.

[25] In August 1949, HMCS Star provided a Fairmile-B class motor launch, two harbour craft, a cutter and two whalers to Exercise "Operation Seahorse" carried out in the Burlington Beach area.

[28][29][30] During the same year, HMCS Star operationalized its first radar set conducting training and tracking ships entering and exiting Hamilton Harbour.

[31] In June 1950, the unit sent its Fairmile-B class motor launch, PTC 706, to partake in exercise "Operation Beaver", a tri-service reserve beach assault manoeuvre at Port Stanley, Ontario.

Before being sent to ships and fleet establishments, until they were considered sufficiently trained, the new scheme was intended to give new sailors the experience they needed on the Great Lakes.

With six motor launches at his disposal, the new Reserve Training Commander Great Lakes called upon PTCs from HMCS Star, York, Cataraqui, Prevost, Hunter and Griffin to form the "Fairmile Flotilla".

From 16 to 17 June, the flotilla conducted its first task, "Operation Beaver II", a 1,700 reserve troop tri-service amphibious landing and airdrop exercise at Erieau.

[36] Prior to the amphibious landing of nearly 500 army troops on three beaches from the Fairmiles, PTC 716 from York laid a smokescreen and paratroopers from the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment captured an airfield at nearby Chatham to allow friendly air support.

During its short existence, the tender's location moved from the former Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC) Training Base at Knollwood Park, then co-locating with the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada and finally to a fabric factory at 130 Weber Street West.

If the detachment was to become an actual Naval Reserve Division, discussions were that it would be named after the former World War II WRCNS training facility in Galt, CONESTOGA.

[57] From 1923 to 2022, HMCS Star has had 37 commanding officers:[58] Rear Admiral Jennifer Bennett (1975–1979) – former commander of the Canadian Naval Reserve from 2007 to 2011 and named as one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2011[59] Commodore Ross Bennett (1947, 1963, 1966–1969) – former judge of the Ontario Court of Justice (Provincial Division)[60] Gwynne Dyer (1959–1965) – former senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and London-based independent Canadian journalist[61] David Etchells (1955) – member of Canadair CL-215 water bomber test team[62] Waldron Fox-Decent (1961–1962) – former professor at University of Manitoba and chairperson of the board of directors of the Workers Compensation Board[63] Seth Grossmith (1952) – former NASA test pilot and fourth naval officer elected to Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame[64] William Jarvis (1952) – former politician in the province of Ontario, Canada[65] Joseph Kirkpatrick (1954–1961) – former Ontario Provincial Court judge[66] Robert Nixon (1946–1950) – retired politician in the province of Ontario, Canada[67] Morris Perozak (1951–1954) – former Ontario Provincial Court judge [68] Graham Scott (1966) – former Ontario Deputy Minister of Health, Deputy Minister of the Environment, and CEO of Cancer Care Ontario[69] Donald Sheppard (1948) – Canada's only F4U Corsair ace of the Second World War, and the first British Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot of any nation to become an ace in the war against Japan[70][71]