History

Georges Head battery was built in 1871 after the removal of the British forces from Australia in 1870. Their departure put the onus on wealthy colonies like New South Wales and Victoria to assist in, and organise its own defences.

Georges Head Battery was an outer line harbour defence fortification designed especially to attack and prevent enemy ships from infiltrating the inner harbor. The fort held a prominent position and was located high above sea level with strategic views to the entrance (Sydney Heads) of Port Jackson. Other battery's were located on Middle Head, South Head, Shark Point and Bradleys Head, but none were ever used for combative purposes.

Georges Head was armed with four 80 pounder RML guns and two 68 pounder ML guns. The term ML, 'muzzle-loading', meant the ammunition and charge were loaded into the front end of the barrel. It took three months and 250 soldiers to roll the gun barrels all the way from North Sydney to the batteries. They came along a rough track which later became Military Road. The guns had been positioned so poorly that this created the risk of one gun firring upon another. Also, the guns and soldiers were visible from the harbour. In 1877 large mounds of earth were placed between the pits to make sure the guns could not fire upon each other and to help protect the gun crew from enemy fire. When construction of the fort was complete, there were a total of 41 gun emplacements positioned around the harbour.

Defence tactics were planned using telescopes and plotters mounted in the middle of the second gun pit. From the telephone exchange, the Port Jackson District Commandant could communicate with all military instillations on the harbour. Telephone cables ran through the tunnels, down the cliff and under the harbour to batteries on the other side.

Georges Head was later chosen as the best place to observe and fire mines which were laid underwater. In 1888 Georges Head battery was modified for the latest in harbour defences in the form of submarine mines. Minefields were laid across the main shipping channels of Port Jackson from 1876 to 1922 and a base was built at Chowder Bay for the submarine miners. From Georges Head, miners watched for ships entering the harbour. Their job was to explode the mine closest to an approaching enemy ship. Each underwater mine was attached to an electric cable that ran up the cliff to the firing post.

The work of the submarine miner was secretive, technical and dangerous. During a demonstration in 1891, a crowd of several thousand watched as a terrible accident killed four miners and injured another eight.

In 1942 and anti-submarine/anti-torpedo boom net was installed. The boom net spanned the entire width of Sydney Harbour from Green (Laings) Point, Watsons Bay to Georges Heights in Mosman

The command post remained until the 1930’s. The area then became home to various defence bases until 2002 when the Army left after 130 years at Georges Head. The area in which the fortifications are situated is now open to the public and the Harbour Trust has restored the historic fortifications, creating a new type of lookout.

Causality clearing station & storage facility

The hospital was carved out of solid rock during the construction of the tunnel system in 1872, and was originally designed to provide a storage room for the black powder charge used when firing the 68pdr and 80pdr guns of the battery.

The floor was originally covered in a bituminous substance, the walls were tiled with ceramic tiles not unlike those seen on the wall pictured, and the tunnel ceiling leading to the room was lined with cork. All designed to reduce the possibility of sparks and the potential for a powder explosion. The zigzag tunnel at the far end of the room was designed to act as a blast wall to contain any blast within the immediate area.

The room has been modified since 1872 and was used as a causality clearing station in 1932/33 when the battery was re-gunned with the 6 inch breech loaded MK7 guns.

Designed for emergencies only, it fortunately saw no causalities of war.

Gallery

References

External links

• www.harbourtrust.gov.au Middle Head history.
• Australian Bunker and Military Museum.