 At the outbreak of war the Royal Australian Navy consisted of the battlecruiser HMAS Australia , the light cruisers Sydney , Melbourne and Brisbane ( under construction ) , the destroyers Parramatta , Yarra and Warrego , and the submarines AE1 and AE2 . Three more destroyers were also under construction . The Squadron was under the command of Rear Admiral Sir George E. Patey , a British admiral who was knighted on the deck of the Australia before it departed England in 1913 . 
