The centre opened on 4 October 2005 and was located within the then Public Access Area on the northern end of the Garden Island naval base in Sydney.

[1] The need for such a facility was first recognised in 1922, by Vice Admiral Sir William Creswell who suggested the building of a museum to permanently display the Australian Navy's already rich and unique heritage.

This exhibit featured a unique interactive display: a fully operational submarine attack periscope was installed to allow visitors an unusual view of Sydney Harbour.

It included precision instruments for navigation and gunnery, in addition to examples of naval ordnance ranging from shells and torpedoes to modern guided missiles.

This main exhibition display used the entire mezzanine level of the workshop building, and provided visitors with an introduction to a sailor's life at sea.