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Tag: Fort

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Fort Scratchley Newcastle

6-inch Nark VII guns Fort Scratchley

Fort Scratchley Newcastle

No longer used by the military, Fort Scratchley is now a memorial to the servicemen and women who served there. During World War Two, the Japanese submarine I-21 attempted to shell Newcastle and the BHP Steel Works. Fortunately most of the shells missed or failed to explode with no-one hurt and only minor damage caused. Fort Scratcheley returned fire but failed to hit the submarine. In doing so, it became the only Australian fort to fire on an enemy ship.

Regularly fired by volunteers, two of the original guns are still in place. Most of the original buildings and tunnels are intact and can be viewed, with guided tours of the tunnels also available.

Now a heritage site, the fort’s buildings and guns from World War Two are still intact. Still operational, the guns are fired each day by volunteers. The upperworks and buildings are free to walk around, but a tour of the tunnels require a ticket as it is a guided tour.

As well as the fortifications, the views over Newcastle and the nearby beaches are fantastic.

Fort Exterior Displays

On entering the fort, you are free to enter all areas apart from the underground tunnels. As the tunnel tours are timed, we booked one and then went exploring the remainder of the fort. At the top of the hill, the 6-inch guns that fired on the I-21 can be seen and you are able to get close to them.

Older muzzle loading guns have been returned to the fort and re-sited where they used to be. The size of the 80-pound cannon really has to be seen to understand how massive it is.

Outside wall of Fort Scratchley
Outside wall of Fort Scratchley
The fort's buildings on the upper level Fort Scratchley
The fort’s buildings on the upper level
80 Pound muzzle Loading cannon over looking the harbour Fort Scratchley
80 Pound muzzle Loading cannon over looking the harbour
6-inch Nark VII guns Fort Scratchley
6-inch Nark VII guns
View over Nobbys Beach to the Harbour entrance
View over Nobbys Beach to the Harbour entrance

Display Rooms

Rooms that used to house soldiers now serve as display rooms showing the history of the fort. A full room is dedicated to Sir Peter Scratcheley who the fort is named after. Another room has a model of the I-21 and some of the shells fired that night.

Display of Sir Peter Scratchley
Display of Sir Peter Scratchley
Weapons display Fort Scratchley
Weapons display
Uniform Display Fort Scratchley
Uniform Display
Women's uniform display
Women’s uniform display
Star shell fired by I-21 on 8 June 1942
Star shell fired by I-21 on 8 June 1942
Model of the Japanese submarine I-21 Fort Scratchley
Model of the Japanese submarine I-21
The fort's gaol
The fort’s gaol

The Tunnels

The highlight of the trip was the tunnel tour which takes you under the fort and into its working areas. The guide was great and full of information about the fort’s past and how it worked. From the magazines that used to store the fort’s ammunition to the gun emplacements it was a comprehensive tour. We were able to get close to most of the guns to get a detailed look.

One of the tunnels, a safety light and stairs leading out
One of the tunnels, a safety light and stairs leading out
One of the fort's tunnels Fort Scratchley
One of the fort’s tunnels
Nordenfelt 1 1/2 inch gun
Nordenfelt 1 1/2 inch gun
The disappearing gun's pit. Now covered
The disappearing gun’s pit. Now covered
80 pounder muzzle loading cannon Fort Scratchley
80 pounder muzzle loading cannon
Shells in the magazine Fort Scratchley
Shells in the magazine
8 Inch breach loading gun
8 Inch breach loading gun
How the disappearing guns worked Fort Scratchley
How the disappearing guns worked

What Did We Think?

This was a great place to visit, because it’s full of local history and amazingly restored guns and displays. Well worth the visit.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Port Kembla Heritage Park

Breakwater Battery Sign

Port Kembla Heritage Park

Containing many large artefacts from Port Kembla’s military and industrial past, the Port Kembla Heritage Park is both an interesting and educational to visit. We parked at the end of Gloucester Boulevard, although you could also use the carpark at Foreshore Road.

The area formed an integral part of the defences of Port Kembla during the Second World War, with several large guns emplaced here. Along with the battery at Hill 60, they defended the vital steel works from a potential Japanese invasion. The guns are long gone with the only reminder they were here being the large concrete emplacements and command tower which is now the Breakwater Battery Museum.

The field of white painted concrete tetrahedrons is one of the first things you see when arriving. Originally placed on the beach to impede enemy tanks they now form a display near the old gun emplacements. They are similar to the ones at Stockton that are sometimes visible at low tide.

Gun Emplacement with anti-tank tetrahedrons Port Kembla Heritage Park
Gun Emplacement with anti-tank tetrahedrons
Tetrahedron anti-tank obstacles Port Kembla Heritage Park
Tetrahedron anti-tank obstacles

Breakwater Battery Museum

Although closed during our visit, the museum houses local military memorabilia. Housed in the old command centre for the gun battery, it is only open every 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month from 11AM to 4PM. If you intend visiting, check the opening times because they may change.

Sited next to the museum is a German 77mm field gun captured by the 45th Battalion AIF on the 8th of August 1918.

Breakwater Battery Museum Port Kembla Heritage Park
Breakwater Battery Museum
German 77mm Field Gun
German 77mm Field Gun

Monuments and Memorials

Scattered around the park are several monuments and memorials to significant local events. The largest memorial is to the Dalfram Dispute of 1938. The dispute was a political industrial dispute at Port Kembla, protesting the export of pig iron from Australia to Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It became famous for providing the nickname of Pig Iron Bob to Attorney General Robert Menzies, later to serve as Prime Minister.

Two monuments to the dispute are located here, one that looks like a giant grenade and a smaller plaque with a picture of the Dalfram.

Representing the area’s industrial past, a large Cowans-Sheldon 30 Ton Steam Crane sits below the museum. Nearby are several anchors and a dredge bucket, representing Port Kembla’s shipping heritage.

Dalfram Dispute Memorial
Dalfram Dispute Memorial
Dalfram Dispute Memorial Port Kembla Heritage Park
Dalfram Dispute Memorial
Anchor from the Gabriella
Anchor from the Gabriella. Memorial to lives lost when she capsized
Cowans-Sheldon 30 Ton Steam Crane
Cowans-Sheldon 30 Ton Steam Crane
Dredge bucket
Dredge bucket
Anchor and Chain Port Kembla Heritage Park
Anchor and Chain

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Cape Banks Botany Bay National Park

Rock Platform and the Wreck of the SS Minmi

Cape Banks

Getting There

We drove to Cape Banks and parked near the pistol club and helicopter base. This large car park has plenty of space, so parking shouldn’t be a problem.

Cape Banks Walking Track

The Cape Banks Walking track runs past the Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter Base towards the coast. On the way you pass an old fortress before reaching the ocean. At this point you turn right, if you turn left, you will arrive back at the car park.

The track continues along the coast to the New South Wales Golf Club, where a small bridge leads out to the cape. From here you are able to explore the rock platform and the higher ground of the cape.

  • Bridge to reach the rock platform
    Bridge to reach the rock platform

Cape Banks Fortifications

Used to protect the approaches to Botany Bay, Fort Banks is an old World War II bunker and fortification complex. During World War Two, it was armed with two 9.2 inch guns, but these are long gone. Sand dunes and vegetation are overtaking the fortifications. Graffiti also covers most of the site, which detracts from the importance of the site.

Despite this, it is still an interesting spot to walk around, with some of the building accessible through rusty doors.

Several old tombstones are stored here, removed from the nearby Hospital Cemetery.

  • Fort Banks
    Fort Banks
  • Fort Banks
    Fort Banks
  • Roof of Fort Banks
    Roof of Fort Banks
  • Fort Banks
    Fort Banks
  • Rusty Steel Doors at Fort Banks
    Rusty Steel Doors at Fort Banks
  • Old Headstones at Fort Banks
    Old Headstones at Fort Banks

Rock Platform

Exposed at low tide, the rock platform provides great views over the ocean. Be careful because you need to climb over rocks to get there. Check the tides before going, to make sure the tide will be low. Rock pools and slippery surfaces on the platform mean you need to walk carefully to avoid slipping.

The small cliff face displays some great erosion patterns from wind and waves. The colours of the rocks are also interesting.

To visit the shipwreck at the end of the cape, make your way to the rocks, where the SS Minmi can be seen up close.

  • Rock Platform and the Wreck of the SS Minmi
    Rock Platform and the Wreck of the SS Minmi
  • Waves Breaking Over the Rock Platform
    Waves Breaking Over the Rock Platform
  • Eroded Cliff on Cape Banks
    Eroded Cliff on Cape Banks
  • Undercut Cliff on Cape Banks
    Undercut Cliff
  • Eroded Cliff on Cape Banks
    Eroded Cliff on Cape Banks
  • Looking Along Cape Banks From the SS Minmi
    Looking Along the Cape From the SS Minmi
  • Overhanging Eroded Rock on the Cliff Face
    Overhanging Eroded Rock on the Cliff Face

Wreck of the SS Minmi

Located at the far end of the rock platform, the remains of the wreck of the SS Minmi are easily accessible at low tide. Salvage work in the 1930s removed the forward part of the ship, so only the rear portion now remaining.

The SS Minmi was a 75m long, 1,455 ton collier built in Glasgow, Scotland in 1927. It was named after either the lower Hunter Valley town of Minmi, or the nearby Minmi Colliery.

The Minmi’s captain for all of her ten-year service was Captain McPhall, who had brought the ship to Australia. Captain McPhall commenced two weeks’ leave in the first week of May, leaving Chief Officer Callum to take over as Captain. On 8 May 1937 at 10 pm while returning to Newcastle after delivering coal to Melbourne, the ship struck the outside of Cape Banks. Frederick Boulton, the ship’s cook, collapsed and died of a heart attack soon after the ship struck the rocks.

The Minmi split in two at about 12:45 am, with crew members stranded on both the front and back sections. Those at the front were rescued without incident, but it was more perilous for those in the rear. During the rescue, one life was lost because of the heavy seas.

  • SS Minmi on the Rock Platform
    SS Minmi on the Rock Platform
  • SS Minmi on the Rocks
    Wreck of the SS Minmi on the Rocks
  • SS Minmi Wreckage Strewn Over the Rocks
    SS Minmi Wreckage Strewn Over the Rocks

What Did We Think?

This was a great little walk, because we saw an old fort, a shipwreck, and enjoyed some nice views. The walk is short, but does require some climbing over rocks and a visit at low tide is a must.