garden island naval station a naval coastal station was established at garden island with little fanfare prior to november 1907. in november 1907 the volume of messages being transacted through the station to and from naval ships was so high that there was informal discussion between relevant authorities whether the ships meteorological reports could be regularised and publicly distributed. in july 1909 it was stated that communication was established with rms "mantua" while more than 200 miles from the heads prior to her arrival on her maiden voyage.