Fleet Review ships gather in Jervis Bay

Last-minute preparations are underway for more than 40 warships to enter Sydney Harbour on Friday as part of the Royal Australian Navy's International Fleet Review.

Onlookers watched on from the beach as the warships left Jervis Bay on Thursday. (AAP)

SBS reporter Rhiannon Elston is travelling with the British Royal Navy aboard HMS Daring as the fleet sails from Jervis Bay to Sydney Harbour.

Representatives from around 20 countries will join Australian vessels entering the harbour to commemorate 100 years since the first entry of the Australian Navy fleet.

Dozens of participating ships gathered in Jervis Bay, south of Sydney, last night ahead of the event.

Among them was one of the most advanced ships in the British Royal Navy.

The HMS Daring, a type 45 destroyer designed for anti-missile and anti-aircraft defence, is the first in her class to make the journey to Australia.

 

The navy's strategic adviser on Indigenous cultural affairs, Ray Rosendale, says Indigenous Australians have played a significant role in naval history, making their presence at this weekend's centenary celebrations even more significant.

"We have been in the military from a very early stage. The first recorded sailor, in the colonial Victorian navy, was Thomas Bungalene. He was in the Royal Victorian Colonial Navy in the 1860s. After that, we've had people serving in all the services right through every conflict up till today."