Sydney was established in 1788 as a British convict colony where the Gadigal people lived as hunters-fishers and gatherers. Read about the early relations between Aboriginal and the British
here
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| New Holland; Port-Jackson: Famille De Sauvages En Voyage. Artist: Sebastian Leroy. Rare French engraving depicting a family group at Port Jackson, between 1820 and 1825 |
1788: The first
fortification built in Australia was by the French
Inspired by the voyages of Captain Cook, Frenchman Comte de La Pérouse (1741–1788) set sail in 1785, on an expedition, along with botanists, astronomers, hydrographers, artists and natural historians, around the world to explore the Pacific and complete the maps of Cook.
The French were also interested in
establishing new colonies, and the French king, Louis XVI, sponsored the Perouse expedition.
La Pérouse’s ships arrived off the coast Of New South Wales, at Botany Bay, on 24 January 1788. This same day, Governor Phillip was moving the First Fleet, of more than 1400 people, from the sandy Botany Bay to Sydney Cove.
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Botany Bay in 1 788. This picture is reproduced from a drawing made in 1789 — 19 years after the landing of Captain Cook, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938) |
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| L'Astrolabe et la Boussole |
British naval officer, Philip Gidley King recorded in his journal:
"...two Strange Ships were seen standing in the Bay ... we judged them to be the two Ships under the orders of Monsieur de la perouse."
The French stayed at Botany Bay for six weeks, building a stockade (as defence against the Aboriginal people) with two canons from their ships, an observatory and a garden for fresh vegetables.
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| Six pounder, La Boussole Cannon |
Father Reçeveur, a chaplain and naturalist, was injured previously by natives of Samoa and he died at Botany Bay. He was buried at Frenchmans Cove at La Perouse.
On March 10, 1783, La Perouse sailed from Botany Bay and was never seen again. The frigates l'Astrolabe and La Boussole were wrecked on Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands.
26 January 1788
The colony was established, at Sydney Cove in Port Jackson, with the arrival of Governor Phillip on 26 January aboard Supply and Sirius the following day.
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| Lithograph of the First Fleet entering Port Jackson, 26 January 1788, by Edmund Le Bihan |
Dawes Point
Two defensive batteries were established by Governor Phillip, at Dawes Point and Bennelong Point, to
protect the colony. Both had naval guns aimed at the entrance to Sydney Cove.
Lieutenant Dawes, an astronomer with the First Fleet, mounted guns on the westside of Sydney Cove. Dawes was also responsible for Australia's first observatory.
Bennelong Point fort, which had two brass six-pounder guns was demolished in 1791.
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| Dawes Point, Sydney, NSW, Capricornian (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1875 - 1929) |
HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet, which had set out from Portsmouth, England. She carried 10 guns, four 6-pounder long guns, and six 18-pounder carronades.
The cannons from
Sirius were landed in 1788.
David Collins, appointed by Governor Phillip as the Secretary to the Governor, wrote about the first battery.
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| HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet, which set out from Portsmouth, England, Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954) |
A powder magazine was finished at Dawes Point in 1789, large enough to contain fifty barrels of powder, followed by the battery in 1791. Four of the guns of the Sirius were sent to
South Head, where they
remained until 1885.
Prisoners in the colony's early days kept on the island that would later become Fort Denison were supplied with scanty amounts of food and water from HMS Sirius, resulting in the name Pinchgut being
applied to the island. The Aboriginal people called it Mattewai (meaning small rocky island).
Fort MacquarieFort Macquarie, a square castellated battlement, was built in 1798 at Bennelong Point (where Sydney Opera House now stands).
Fort Macquarie, Sydney, NSW, llustrated Sydney News (NSW : 1881 - 1894), Thursday 7 February 1889
1800sIn 1801, Sydney was visited by the French ships Naturaliste and Geographe, French explorers, Nicolas Baudin and Fancois Peron proposed invading NSW. Read
hereThe Napoleonic Wars were raging in Europe. So in 1801, additional batteries were established by Governor King at Garden Island and Georges Head.
A gun battery was established on Georges Head (Mosman) between 1801 and 1803.
In 1804, a fort was built, commissioned by Governor King on Observatory Hill, and
named Fort Phillip in 1805. The area on which the citadel sat, on a hill above The Rocks, was known as Windmill Hill at this
time.
In 1810, Governor Macquarie decided that Fort Phillip, Dawes Point and Bennelong Point would form the backbone of Sydney's defence.
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| Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954) |
In 1815, Governor Macquarie granted land at Georges Heights, Mosman, to sixteen Aboriginal families to settle and farm. Bungaree was placed in charge. The experiment was not successful.
Governor Lachlan Macquarie directed that a new fort be built in 1817 on the site at Bennelong Point and this was
completed in February 1821. Designed by Francis Greenway Macquarie Fort had a two-storey tower, that was 27.4 metres in circumference housing a guardroom and storehouse.
1820sMacquarie Watchtower, at La Perouse, built 1820, is believed to have been commissioned by Governor Macquarie.
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| Macquarie Watchtower, at La Perouse, NSW, built 1820, Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 15 November 1930 |
1830s
In November 1839, in the hours of darkness, sloops of war, Vincennes and Peacock slipped into Sydney and circled Pinchgut Island. Sydney was the base for a
pioneering cruise to Antarctica.
The war sloops' visit unintentionally exposed the lack of defences and security at Sydney Harbour. (A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast.)
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| U.S. sloop of war Vincennes: 20 guns. New York: Published by N. Currier. Currier & Ives. A size. Lithograph print, hand-colored. Created 1845 |
1840s
Fortifications at Kirribilli, Bradleys Head (Mosman) and Pinchgut (Fort Denison) began construction in August 1840, using convict labour. However, funding was not approved until March 1842. The fort was cut into the sandstone outcrop.
A gun pit and firing wall were built at Bradley Head from large blocks of sandstone
located on the site. Muzzle loading 24-pounder guns were installed, and a wharf built of sandstone for goods transport from Circular Quay.
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Port Jackson from Dawes Point, Ca. 1842, John Skinner Prout, State Library of New South Wales |
1850s
In 1853 batteries at Inner South head (where the Hornby lighthouse is), Middle Head (Mosman) and Georges Head (Mosman) were commenced.
Fears of Russian attack!
The outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, when Russian troops attacked the Crimea, which was defended by a small British force,
intensified fears that Russia may also attack Australia.
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| Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), Saturday 17 March 1855 |
Fortification of Pinchgut Island (Fort Denison) island began in 1841 but was not completed.
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| Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), Saturday 3 May 1856 |
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| Voluntary Artillery, Sydney, NSW, 1854, Capricornian (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1875 - 1929) |
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| Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), Saturday 18 April 1857 |
Fort Denison
Fort Dension was completed on 14 November 1857, and armaments included two ten inch guns and twelve 8-inch 32 pounders. The fort's name was in honour of Sir William Thomas Denison, the Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861.
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| An old-time picture of Pinchgut as it used to be, Sydney, NSW, Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930) |
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| The gun-room just as it was when Pinchgut (Fort Dension) was built, Sydney, NSW, Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930) |
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| Fort Macquarie Sydney, NSW, 1858-1859 William Hetzer, SLNSW |
The Martello tower, built at Fort Dension, has walls that are between 11 and 12 feet thick at the base and nine feet at the top. There were quarters for a garrison of 24 soldiers and one officer.
Only one Martello tower was ever built in Australia. This tower has blocks of stone, locked together by small diabolo-shaped cross-pieces of granite (known to builders as joggles).
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| Fort Dension, NSW, blocks of stone are locked together by small diabolo-shaped cross-pieces of granite (known to builders as joggles) Walkabout. Vol. 5 No. 3 (1 January 1939) |
A brass gong warned mariners when fog filled the harbour, before the days of electricity.
1860s
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| Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), Monday 25 June 1866 |
1870s
British troops had all left and the colony in August 1870 and Australia was forced to plan its own defences. (the Cardwell reforms)
From about 1871, various Sydney forts were built aimed at self-reliance in defence including: the Middle Head Fortifications, the Georges Head Battery, the Lower Georges Heights Commanding Position, Bradleys Head Fortification Complex and Steele Point Battery. (and four 10-inch guns on Garden Island)
The British-made breech-loading Armstrong "disappearing" guns were chosen for their range and power. The gun also retracted into its
concealed pit after firing and recoil, making it a lesser target.
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| There were three sets of fortifications built in Mosman and Middle Head in the 1870s |
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| Sydney Mail (NSW : 1860 - 1871), Saturday 4 February 1871 |
Steele Point Battery (Shark Point Battery)
New fortifications commenced construction in 1870, designed by colonial architect James Barnet, in the area of Nielsen Park (Vaucluse) . The guns of the Steele Point Battery were put in position in 1876 but were never fired. The fort fell into neglect, and by 1889, the guns were rusted, and filled with sand.
Middle Head Fortifications (Mosman)
The battery on Middle Head, built in 1871, was designed by colonial architect James Barnet. Three sets of fortifications were built at Mosman and Middle Head in the 1870s.
With an extensive network of tunnels, ancillary rooms, gunpowder magazine and Armstrong disappearing gun emplacement, the site also had an underground power room.
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| Exterior of Fort Macquarie, Bennelong Point, Sydney, NSW, Australia, c. 1870, SLNSW |
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| Fortifications Middle Head, Sydney, NSW, 1871, Capricornian (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1875 - 1929) |
The Steele Point Battery (Nielson Park, Vaucluse) was built in 1871 as part of a new Harbour Defence System.
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| H.M.S. WOLVERINE AND BATTERY AT MRS. MACQUARIE'S CHAIR IN TUB SEVENTIES (1870s) Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930) |
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| Middle Head defences, 1874, Sydney, NSW, / photographed by Charles Bayliss, SLNSW (The battery on Middle Head built in 1871 was designed by James Barnet, a colonial architect) |
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| ROLLING 18-TON GUN TO. MIDDLE HEAD (in 1875). Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930) |
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| The battery of Mrs. Macquarie's Point, Sydney, NSW, which has long since disappeared. mounted two ten-inch and eight 32-pounders and commanded the channel round Bradley's Head, Capricornian (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1875 - 1929) |
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| Gun at Middle Head, Port Jackson, NSW, 1880, Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons |
Continual improvements in armaments and the need to match arms developments by other nations led to the redundancy of
existing fortifications.
In 1873, another battery, with five gun pits, was
constructed on Georges Heights.
Submarine miners, based at Chowder Bay (Mosman), laid minefields across the main shipping channels of Port Jackson from 1876 to 1922.
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Battery, Fort Denison, showing Garden Palace, 1879, Sydney, NSW, Journal and proceedings
Vol. 3 Part. 8 (1916) |
1880s
Additional barracks were added to Shark Point Battery in 1880.
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| Fort Macquarie, Sydney, NSW, in 1882, Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons (Designed by Francis Greenway the foundation stone of Fort Macquarie was laid by Governor Lachlan Macquarie on 17 December 181) |
Bare Island FortConstruction of Bare Island fort was completed in 1885. The fort was armed with two RML 9 inch 12 ton guns, two RML 80 pounder guns, a RML 10 inch 18 ton gun in an armoured casemate, and two five–barrelled 0.45-inch (1.1 cm) Nordenfelt guns.
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| SYDNEY, NSW. 1887. MEMBERS OF THE LONG COURSE AT THE NSW SCHOOL OF GUNNERY, MIDDLE HEAD, MOVING A 10 INCH, 18 TON, RIFLED MUZZLE LOADING (RML) ARTILLERY GUN BARREL, 1887, AWM |
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| Cliff top gun emplacement at South Head, NSW, showing sunken pathways between the batteries. No date. Powerhouse Museum |
According to one source, three of the guns from the
Sirius were put on a boat to be sent to Sydney, in about 1885, the craft capsized and the guns went to the bottom.
1890s
Cliff-top forts were built in the eastern suburbs of Sydney in the late 1890s at Signal Hill Battery in Watsons Bay, Ben Buckler Battery in North Bondi, and Steel Point Battery in Clovelly.
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| Unidentified members of the New South Wales Submarine Miners, stationed at Chowder Bay, NSW, preparing harbour defence mines. The mines were attached to cables that ran under the water to the other side of the harbour. 1890, AWM |
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| The Middle Head Fortifications, RML gun being removed in 1891, AWM |
Completing Sydney’s defence ring to repel naval attack were three batteries built during the 1890s: Signal. Hill (Vaucluse), Shark Point. (Clovelly), and Ben Buckler (North Bondi).
The Armstrong Foundry gun at Ben Buckler was cast in 1891 and established within its concrete casemate in 1893. A team of 36 horses took three weeks to transport the gun from Victoria Barracks. Read
more
The Signal Hill Battery was constructed in 1892/93 at Watsons Bay and is adjacent to the Signal Hill Lighthouse on Old South Head Road.
The Henry Head Battery on the northern side of the
entrance to Botany Bay at Henry Head, La Perouse, was built from 1892-5.
The gun pit at North Bondi, was hidden below ground level with reinforced concrete walls said to be ten metres thick.
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| RML 10 inch gun being dismantled at the fortification in 1893 and the remains of a former depression range finding station, Middle Head, Mosman, NSW, 1893 |
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| "SYDNEY, NSW. 1892. A BREECH LOADING (BL) 6 INCH MARK 5 GUN IN THE UPPER CASEMATE BATTERY AT GEORGES HEAD." Mosman, NSW, 1892, AWM |
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| Historical image of the Ben Buckler gun battery, defences of Sydney, Australia (located in the North Bondi locality of Ben Buckler) |
1900s
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| Sydney Heads from Battery, Georges Head, NSW, 1900, Donna Newton |
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| Heads from George's Battery, Sydney, NSW, Donna Newton |
In 1901, the Macquarie Fort was demolished to make way for the Fort Macquarie Tram Depot.
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| Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 2 March 1901 |
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| FORT MACQUARIE: NOW BEING PULLED DOWN. Sydney, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 23 March 1901 (Designed by Francis Greenway the foundation stone of Fort Macquarie was laid by Governor Lachlan Macquarie on 17 December 1817) |
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| Signal Hill Fort, Watson's Bay, NSW, Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong, NSW : 1856 - 1950), Wednesday 23 November 1904 |
An anchor from the HMS
Sirius wreck was recovered in 1907, and this and a canon from
Sirius can be viewed on a pedestal in Macquarie Place, Sydney.
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| Enthusiastic gathering the ceremony of unveiling the Sirius anchor and gun, Sydney, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 30 January 1907 |
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| Bare Island, La Perouse, NSW, Bear Island, La Perouse, 1907, Powerhouse Museum |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 16 April 1907 |
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| The premature firing of the Ben Buckler gun, Worker (Wagga, NSW : 1892 - 1913), Thursday 23 April 1908 |
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| View of Fort Denison, Sydney, Australia. 1908, Community Archives |
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| Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Friday 1 October 1909 |
A 12-pounder gun, was fired daily at Pinchgut, by a caretaker, at 1 o'clock, in the early days to keep time.
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| "One p.m." The gun was formerly fired from Dawes Point, but the time is now recorded from Fort Denison, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 3 August 1910 |
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| SIX VETERANS AT THE OLD BARE ISLAND FORT. LA PEROUSE. NSW. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 28 May 1912 |
WWI
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| South Head, Repository Squad, NSW |
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| The view photographed from Mosman Heights, gives a glimpse ( on the left) of North Head, and (on the right ) of inner South Head, on which is the Hornby Light. In the foreground is part of Chowder Bay ( Clifton Gardens).The buildings at the foot of ihe tree-clad slope comprise the Submarine Miners and Engineers' Depot. Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 3 December 1919 |
1920s
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| OLD GAOL AT FORT MACQUARIE, SYDNEY, RECENTLY DEMOLISHED. REMOVING AN INTERESTING LINK WITH THE EARLY DAYS. Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 5 July 1924 |
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| "Bare Island," the old veterans' home at the entrance to Botany Bay, N.S.W. Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 5 September 1925 |
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| World's News (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 1955), Saturday 10 April 1926 |
1930s
South Head emplacement was refurbished in 1939 and had BL Mark 7 guns placed there as part of Sydney's WWII defences.
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| Parade of the permanent forces at Middle Head Fort, NSW (Mosman), Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 22 March 1930 |
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| Anchor from the H.M.S. Sirius, Macquarie Place, Sydney, ca. 1930, NLAUST |
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| One of the loading crew at the open breech with a 6-inch shell (Middle Head fort). Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 7 December 1937 |
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| Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Thursday 19 May 1938 |
1940s and WWII
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THIS GUN PIT in Bare Island fort, LaPerouse, now a war veterans' home, will be converted to a billiards room. To remove the 18-ton cannon, the steel walls of the fort will be cut with oxy-acetylene flame. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Sunday 16 March 1941 (construction of Bare Island fort was completed in 1885) |
Fort Banks
Located north of Cape Banks in La Perouse, Fort Banks was built
before and during World War II. During the war period it was reutilised and armed with two 18pdr field guns on pedestals in newly built concrete emplacements.
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| Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Wednesday 30 January 1946 |
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| Signal Hill Battery, 1946, SOUTH HEAD, NSW. 1946-07-08. MEMBERS OF EASTERN COMMAND FIXED DEFENCES CLEANING ONE OF THE SIX INCH COASTAL ARTILLERY GUNS ON SIGNAL HILL. AWM |
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| "LA PEROUSE, NSW. 1946-05-09. ONE OF THE 9.2" COASTAL ARTILLERY GUNS EMPLACED AT CAPE BANKS. THE BARREL IS 33 FEET LONG. THE GUNS ARE POWERED BY TWO LARGE DIESEL GENERATORS 75 FEET UNDERGROUND. THE GENERATORS GENERATE 400 VOLTS AND TURN OUT 273 AMPS EACH", 1946, AWM |
By the outbreak of World War II, the Ben Buckler gun was obsolete.
After a Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour, with the intention to destroy several major warships, the Australian military set about upgrading defences.
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| Close-up of the stern of one of the Japanese submarines raised from Sydney harbour. It was discovered that about 15 feet of the sub- marine had been blown off the stern and the photograph shows how cleanly the explosion had sheered through the middle. Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 18 June 1942 |
By August 1942, the Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net spanned the entire width of Sydney Harbour from Laing Point (formerly known as Green Point), Watsons Bay, to Georges Head Battery, on the northern side of Sydney Harbour.
1950s
High explosive shells used by coastal batteries during WWI were exploded by Army demolition experts at Cape Banks, near La Perouse, in 1952. Army experts exploded the shells in pairs inside the hull of a naval vessel, which was wrecked at Cape Banks in 1944.
By the 1950s, the Ben Buckler battery was abandoned, and the government couldn't find a scrap metal buyer to take the Ben Buckler gun away. The gun site was covered with sand.
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| Pinchgut (Fort Denison), Sydney, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Sunday 22 March 1953 |
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| Entrance to the underground passages of Fort Neilson, Vaucluse, Sydney, NSW,Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Sunday 22 March 1953 |
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Section of fortified trench, with platform and apertures, at Bradley's Head. NSW, Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Friday 30 April 1954 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Sunday 3 January 1954 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Sunday 3 January 1954 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Sunday 3 January 1954 |
1970s
In 1974, the Middle Head fortifications featured in the movie Stone. By 1979, the military had left the location and most of the area became national park.
1980s
The Sydney Water Board were excavating for the Bondi sewerage treatment works in 1984 and rediscovered the Ben Buckler gun battery. The entire concrete casemate, gun and hydraulic mount were left in situ and buried by landfill during the 1950s. And there it remains.
1990s
In 1990, one of the 16 bronze-stone firing canons from La Boussole wreck was presented to the La Perouse Museum.
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| One of the 16 bronze-stone firing canons from La Boussole wreck (ship of La Perouse expedition) was presented to the La perouse Museum. ClaireM1FLEUnivRéunion |
In 2006, one of the cannons from Fort Macquarie was placed in Hyde Park and another in Gregson Park, Hamilton, Newcastle, NSW.
Around Sydney Historic Forts
Anchor and cannon from HMS Sirius, Macquarie Place, at the corner of Bridge and Loftus Streets near Circular Quay, Sydney, NSW.
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| Cannon from HMS Sirius - Sydney, New South Wales. Located in Macquarie Place Park. The Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet in 1788, sv1ambo. Anchor and cannon from HMS Sirius, Macquarie Place, at the corner of Bridge and Loftus Streets near Circular Quay, Sydney, NSW. |
Fort Macquarie |
| Fort Macquarie, La Perouse, NSW, built 1820 |
Middle Harbour (Head)The walk from Bradleys Head to Middle Head at Mosman, NSW, is a 10km bush walk.
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| Middle Head military complex, Mosman, NSW, is linked by underground tunnels and ancillary rooms. The area around Middle Head Fort also contains gun pits and 'tiger cages.' |
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| A gun emplacement at Middle Head on Sydney Harbour, NSW, used in one of the scenes in the movie, Stone. In the scene an under cover police officer (Stone) was initiated into the bikie gang Adam.J.W.C. |
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| Middle head fort in Mosman, New South Wales, :--Adam |
Bradley's Head (Mosman)
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| Sydney Harbour Defences. Cannon on Bradleys Heads Sydney Harbour , NSW, Adam.J.W.C. |
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| Sydney Harbour Defences. Room inside fort/Bunker Bradleys Head Sydney Harbour, NSW, Adam.J.W.C. |
Georges Head Battery (in the suburb of Mosman)
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| Sydney Harbour Defences. Inside a fort in Sydney Harbour. Georges Head Battery, NSW. Part of the fortification tunnel complex from above. Adam.J.W.C. |
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| View of The Georges Head Battery, 1803, battery location Georges Heights, in the suburb of Mosman |
Fort Denison |
| Fort Denison, Sydney Harbour, NSW, Mertie . |
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| Fort Denison, Sydney Harbour, NSW, Martin7d2f |
Bare Island (La Persouse)
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| The Steele Point Battery is a small fort, on the shores of Port Jackson in the eastern Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, NSW, Adam.J.W.C |
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| Watsons Bay, New South Wales. The City of Sydney as well as the Sydney Harbour Bridge is in the background on the right with the gap in the foreground, Adam.J.W.C. |
Signal Hill (Watson's Bay) |
Signal Hill Battery in Watsons Bay, New South Wales, Adam.J.W.C.
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| Signal Hill Battery in Watsons Bay, New South Wales. Inside the underground bunker complex. Pictured is a tunnel leading to an elevator shaft. Adam.J.W.C. |
Henry Head
located on the northern side of the entrance to Botany Bay at Henry Head, La Perouse, NSW.
Things To Do and Places To GoLa Perouse and Bare Island
Sirius Anchor
Middle Head- The Middle Head Fortifications. 1. Outer Middle Head Battery located at the end of Old Fort Road. 2. the Inner Middle Head Battery located at the end of Govenors Road. 3. The Obelisk batteries reached by a path from the corner of Middle Head Road and Chowder Bay Road, Middle Head, Mosman, NSW.
Georges Head Battery
Mrs Macquarie's Chair was carved out of a sandstone rock ledge by convicts in 1810, for Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales. Mrs Macquarie's Chair is across Farm Cove, just east of Sydney Opera House.
Bradley's Head Fort- Bradleys Head Road(northern side of Sydney Harbour, just south of Taronga Park Zoo, within the Sydney Harbour National Park in Mosman, NSW.
Fort Denison is now a museum, tourist attraction, with an island cafe. Take a ferry that departs Wharf 6 at Circular Quay to the island.
The La Perouse Museum
Bare Island Fort guided tour
Steele Point fortifications - Located in Neilsen Park, at Greycliffe Avenue, Vaucluse in the Municipality of Woollahra, NSW.
The Signal Hill Battery was constructed in 1892–3 at Watsons Bay and is adjacent to the Signal Hill Lighthouse on Old South Head Road, NSW.
The Henry Head Battery is located on the northern side of the entrance to Botany Bay at Henry Head, La Perouse, NSW.
Prisoners in the colony's early days kept on the island that would later become Fort Denison were supplied with scanty amounts of food and water from HMS Sirius, resulting in the name Pinchgut being applied to the island. The Aboriginal people called it Mattewai (meaning small rocky island).
