Rockingham rides defence wave as Eric Chewning’s HII sets sights on the seaside town becoming major naval hub

Eric Chewning has the kind of resume that makes people feel like under-achievers.

An investment banker with an MBA, Chewning joined the US Army after the Twin Towers fell, serving in Iraq before returning to civilian life as a partner at McKinsey and Co.

In 2017 the desire to serve his country overcame him once more and he swapped Wall Street for the Pentagon, serving as deputy assistant secretary of defence for industrial policy and then chief of staff to the US Secretary of Defence.

Today, as executive vice-president of American military shipbuilding company Huntington Ingalls Industries, Chewning travels the world.

Over the next few years, a new destination will compete with Washington, London and Tokyo for space in his itinerary: Rockingham.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, which is known as HII in the industry, is one of the biggest defence companies in the world.

It is one of several businesses eyeing off Rockingham as the seaside town grows to become the biggest naval centre in the southern hemisphere.

Chewning has been to WA several times and the frequency of his visits will increase over the next few years. His American twang won’t sound out of place; at least 2000 Americans connected to the military will move to the southern Perth suburb as the AUKUS program ramps up.

It’s going to get squeezy.

“We’re growing by 14 people a day, which is over 5000 people a year coming to Rockingham without any defence personnel arriving,” Rockingham mayor Lorna Buchan recently told ABC Perth.

The reason for the population explosion can be found 20km up the coast at Henderson, which is ground zero for the biggest industrial undertaking in WA since the Pilbara iron ore boom.

The precinct will host two of the biggest defence programs the country has attempted — maintenance of Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarine fleet and construction of eight of the 11 new general-purpose frigates.

An estimated 10,000 workers are needed across construction, frigate shipbuilding and nuclear submarine sustainment. Austal’s $5 billion landing craft contracts will support about 3000 more.

Rockingham is already one of Perth’s fastest-expanding local governments, with the population forecast to rise from 140,000 in 2021 to 230,000 by 2046.

“AUKUS and the associated expansion of the defence industry sector will create additional demand for housing, transport, community infrastructure and services,” Ms Buchan said.

“While the direct population increase associated with AUKUS is one factor, the broader multiplier effect generated through defence-related employment, supply chains and supporting industries has the potential to place further demand on infrastructure across the region.”

The 13,000 direct jobs will create thousands more as teachers, medical staff, childcare workers, baristas and tradies are drawn to an economic honeypot.

From as early as 2027, HMAS Stirling will host one British and up to four US nuclear-powered submarines under the so-called Submarine Rotational Force-West program.

About 1200 serving US personnel will arrive over four years and roughly half of them will bring their families. The circa-2000 ex-pat contingent will be the second-largest US military footprint in Australia after the Marines rotation through Darwin.

The US Navy has indicated the figure could reach 2300 by 2030 once civilian employees and contractors are counted.

Where they will all live is top-of-mind for the Pentagon and Canberra. Defence Housing Australia manages about 670 properties near HMAS Stirling and intends to double its Rockingham portfolio within five years.

In October 2024, it signed three contracts with WA businesses — Parcel Property, Forma Homes and Plunkett Homes — for 550 new households, many in Baldivis.

The council is not planning a separate AUKUS fast lane.

“Rather than creating a separate process for AUKUS-related development, our focus is on maintaining the responsive and streamlined service that all housing projects receive,” Ms Buchan said.

“Importantly, Rockingham isn’t starting from scratch. Our planning framework already provides significant capacity for future housing, including more than 15,000 potential dwellings within the city centre alone.”

REIWA put the typical Rockingham house price at $495,000 in October 2023. The median sale price for the 12 months to August 2026 is $865,000 — growth of about 75 per cent in under three years.

Local real estate agents were reporting vacancy rates around 0.5 per cent well before AUKUS money began flowing, with Eastern States investors hunting stock off-market since late 2021.

Observers are wondering what happens now that the city now has a Government-guaranteed, 30-year employment story to sell.

Ms Buchan is confident her town will take it in its stride, as it has done since its first jetty opened in December 1872. A naval base was planned for Cockburn Sound in 1911 — it never materialised but the suburb of Naval Base carries the name.

HMAS Stirling was commissioned on Garden Island in July 1978. It now supports a workforce of more than 3600.

The area’s connection to the US is well-documented and part of the fabric of life. The Rockingham Vipers gridiron club, the Flames basketball club and the Rams baseball club are testament to the area’s American heritage.

History is not a predictor of the future, though, and the increasing tempo of defence work has some wondering whether the region can handle the pressure.

To that end, Rear-Admiral Douglas J Adams, the US Navy’s AUKUS director, flew in this year to inspect facilities.

Ms Buchan knows she can’t do everything on her own; her council’s balance sheet isn’t up to the task.

DevelopmentWA and Mirvac will deliver more than 4000 homes for 10,000 people at Karnup from 2028, with a primary school, commercial centre and one in seven dwellings as Government housing.

The State has called for expressions of interest on 18ha of Government land in Rockingham in part to house the future AUKUS workforce. Rockingham has planning in train for 16,000 additional homes.

Ms Buchan’s preference is that the newcomers become part of the community. The city has urged DHA “to integrate defence housing within the broader community rather than creating concentrated pockets of accommodation”.

“Many defence families already choose to call Rockingham home because of our coastal lifestyle, strong sense of community and access to services,” she said. “We expect AUKUS personnel and their families will find the same welcoming environment.”