Steel Point Battery

The Shark Point Battery is a small fort, located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the eastern Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, New South Wales Australia.

The main gun emplacement with the RAN degaussing station in view

History

The land on Shark Point was resumed from its private owners and construction of the battery began in 1871 and was completed in 1874 with an additional barracks being added in 1880. The site was designed under the supervision of colonial architect James Barnet who was responsible for designing several other harbour fortifications during this period. In 1872 three 80-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns were installed.

In 1893 the fort was upgraded to hold a BL 9.2 inch (234 mm) Mk VI breech-loading 'counter bombardment' British Armstrong 'disappearing' gun. The Shark Point Battery was one of three such batteries protecting Sydney Harbour. The other two are the Ben Buckler Gun Battery at Bondi, and the Signal Hill Battery at Watsons Bay. The design of the batteries included a domed metal shield that covered each gun pit was intended to protect the gun from incoming shells. The Shark Point Battery's 9.2 inch gun's serial number was 7317. At some point the gun was removed and the battery converted to hold three 5-inch breech-loading guns.

The Shark Point battery formed part of the Sydney Harbour defences and was originally built at a time of fears of a Russian attack and other concerns such as in the withdrawal of British garrison troops, threats to British dependencies and increasing self reliance in defence matters. The fort worked in conjunction with various other forts located on Sydney Harbour that were also built in or around 1871. These forts included, the Middle Head Fortifications, the Georges Head Battery, the Lower Georges Heights Commanding Position and another small fort on Bradleys Head, known as the 'Bradleys Head Fortification Complex'.

In its last form, the battery consisted of three sandstone gun emplacements or pits with embrasures for the guns to fire through. These pits were connected by open passages and covered passages that led into underground chambers that consisted of a gunpowder magazine, a shell and artillery store and two shell and lamp recesses built of stone. The site had its own living quarters that included amenities for the workers manning the fort. The fort was surrounded by a picket fence with a sandstone base and another barbed wire fence for security. The fort also had its own jetty with connecting roads.

Shark/Steel Point at present consists of a three-gun battery. The passageways, tunnels, magazine store and barrack room are now partially buried. The stone lintel cover of the entry to the rear emplacement was smashed and the tunnel filled with debris, allowing water to seep in causing damage to the interior. The stonework of the lower emplacements and connecting passages are in good condition and there is still one gun emplacement located above ground.

The land on which the fort is located was granted to the state of New South Wales in 1980 and later became the responsibility of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife. A small portion of the land on which the fort is located is used as a degaussing station by the Royal Australian Navy.

Bare Island (New South Wales)

Bare Island is a small island in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located about 16km south east of the Sydney central business district, close to the northern headland of Botany Bay.

Bare Island is connected by a footbridge to the suburb of La Perouse. The historic military fort and tunnels can only be visited by guided tour. The waters around the island are popular with scuba divers.

The island was featured in Mission: Impossible II.

History

Bare Island was part of the traditional land of the Gweagal and Kameygal Aboriginal tribes. In 1770, it was described as ‘a small bare island’ by early explorer, Lieutenant James Cook.

In 1877 it was decided that a fort was to be built on the island. Botany Bay was considered the back door into Sydney, thus making the city vulnerable to a seaborne attack. The construction of a fort on the island would reduced the odds of an attack from this entry point. Plans for the construction of a fort were drawn up by the Colonial Architects Department and tenders in 1880. Government tender for construction was awarded to John McLeod and Co, who also built the Georges Head and Middle Head fortifications. Construction of Bare Island fort was completed in 1885 at a cost of 34,000 pounds. Work inside the fort began in 1889. The Bare Island Fort was designed by Colonel Scratchley, the plans were prepared by Mr Morell, CE and supervised by James Barnet (1827-1904).

In 1890 a Royal Commission found that construction of the fort was faulty due to the use of an inferior grade of concrete. The whole project started to crumble before it was completed. The Royal Commission was very critical of the material used and were reluctant to refer to the material as concrete. The two clerks who were responsible for the operation, Henry Purkis and Edwin Colley, were found to be neglectful in their duties of inspecting the site. The contractor responsible was asked to repay some of the money that was paid out to him. He was also banned from any other government contracts. The Colonial Architect Mr James Barnet who is more widely known for designing many of the beautiful sandstone buildings in Sydney was eventually blamed for failing to oversee the project and to limit the amount of extra funds paid out to the contractor. This led to his resignation in disgrace from government office.

Though bristling with guns, the fort was soon made redundant by advancing technology. By 1902 Bare Island was decommissioned and ceased to exist as a military fortification, with only a handful of military personnel manning the fort. In 1912, Bare Island became a retirement home for war veterans from the Crimea, Sudan and China campaigns. It continued to operate as a retirement home until 1963, after this the Randwick District Historical Society became caretakers of the island. In 1967 it was passed onto the New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service for use as a museum and tourist attraction. The Bare Island fort has now been declared an historical site.

Bradleys Head Fortification Complex

The Bradleys Head Fortification Complex is a small fort located on the northern side of Taronga Park Zoo that formed part of a total defence system for Sydney Harbour and recalls a period when the colony of New South Wales became increasingly aware of its isolation and wealth. The fortification is located on Bradleys Head Road, Mosman, Australia.

The main firing wall of the Bradley's Head Fortification Complex.

Gun emplacement overlooking Port Jackson

History

Construction of the fort began in 1840-42 and consisted of a gun pit and firing wall that was built out of large blocks of sandstone and carved partly from the original rock that was located on site. The earlier stages of construction during this period were done with the supervision of Major George Barney, a Commanding Royal Engineer who used hired labour that was supplied by Governor Gipps.

In 1871 the fortification received an additional barracks. The barracks were constructed from large sandstone blocks and carved out of the existing rock on the headland. The 1871 barracks were designed and constructed under the direction of James Barnet, a colonial architect. This most recent addition consisted of three gun pits and had connecting galleries for the riflemen. The upgrade of 1871 was complementary to some of the larger fortifications being constructed during the same period on Middle Head, South Head, Georges Heights and Georges Head.

The site is now part of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.

The only entrance to the battery constructed in 1871.	A feature inside the onsite barracks.	One of the barrack hallways with an entry point to the innermost chamber on the right hand side.	The innermost chamber of the barracks
Trenches leading to gun emplacements and into the underground chambers on site.	Large gun emplacement constructed 1840-42	Cannon and gun emplacement constructed 1871	Empty gun emplacement constructed 1871

Beehive Casemate

The Beehive Casemate is an historical fortification located on the banks of Obelisk Bay, in Sydney Harbour. Construction began in 1871 and was completed in 1874.

The fort was constructed under the supervision of colonial architect James Barnet.

The underground Casemate was one of the first to be locally designed and built after the withdrawal of British troops in 1870 and the Cardwell Reforms.

The fortification contains three domed chambers that were used as gun emplacements, each chamber had a small opening or window for the gun to fire through with each window looking out towards the Sydney Heads.

The underground chambers were made of brick and mortar and were built into the excavated cavities in the sandstone bedrock. They were intended to fire on enemy ships as they navigated the passages around Sow and Pigs Reef, within the entrance to Sydney Harbour.