The base was commissioned on 1 January 1943 under the command of Commander R.B.A. Hunt RAN, who was previously the Naval Officer in Charge Port Moresby. Hunt was the hydrographic surveyor who had surveyed Port Moresby. HMAS Basilisk was paid off on 17 December 1945. HMAS Basilisk was re-commissioned under CMDR P. Paffard, RAN on 14 November 1974 to provide administrative support for RAN personnel serving with the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. The naval base was finally decommissioned in 1983.