| Defending Perth: Fortifications in and around Perth
In February 1942 after the fall of Singapore, an urgent survey was conducted by the British Admiralty, and Cockburn Sound was selected as an ideal fleet anchorage with its wide expanse of water. Work quickly began on securing the Sound in 1942 and went on 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the two years. Overall the project cost two million pounds. Heavy Artillery was set up along the coast from Swanbourne to Cape Peron, and on Rottnest and Garden Islands, to protect the proposed anchorage and its approaches.
Point Peron, Safety Bay
Gun Placement No. 1
The Cape Peron Coastal Defense Battery or "K" Battery as it was labelled was begun late in 1942 but never fired an angry shot. The war zone soon moved away from Western Australia and the battery was decommissioned early in 1945.
Obersvation Post
The Cape Peron Battery consisted of two 155mm Guns, a large observation post and operations centre with bunkers for housing personnel, storage of ammunition etc. All were connected by subterranian tunnels. The Operations Centre was used to co-ordinate battery activities by telephone.
The guns were of French design and manufactured in 1917-18. They were modified slightly by the US Government after purchase for use in World War I. The Peron guns used 42.08 kg shells, had a maximum range of 18.4 km and could move through 270deg. They were supported by a field observation post and two searchlights for night firing.
As the guns proved troublesome to operate because of age and wear, it was decided to re-equip the Peron Battery with 5.25 inch guns which could also be used against aircraft.However, by the time they arrived in Fremantle it was unlikely that Cockburn Sound would be used as a war time naval base, and they were not installed. The battery was decommissioned early in 1945
For many years, the Battery's field observation post, situated on the highest point of the cape (26 metres above sea level), has given visitors spectacular views of the surrounding coastline, but the gun sites were relatively unknown as they fell within the boundaries of a children's campsite.
Gun Placement No. 2
In 1993, the Peron Battery was placed on the Interim List of the National Estate Register and the various buildings and gun emplacements were connected by pathways. The observation post, operations centre and gun emplacement No. 1 are in relatively good condition. Gun emplacement No. 2 is situated on a sandhill that has suffered major erosion and the fort is near collapse. The tunnels were sealed shut years ago but erosion of the sandhills on which they were escavated has resulted in a few tunnels entrances being open again.
Garden Island fortifications
The 9.2 inch gun of Scriven Battery in combat storage in the 1950s
In 1942 the Australian Army commenced heavily fortifying Garden Island with coastal gun batteries, military facilities, additional jetties and searchlights at strategic sites as part of the fixed defences safeguarding the bustling port of Fremantle.
Challenger Battery, consisting of two single 155-millimetre guns, and Beacon Battery, with two single four-inch guns, became operational early in 1942-43 whilst construction went on above and below ground on the heavy Scriven Battery, which comprised two large 9.2-inch guns in single gunhouses.
Careening Bay Camp became a major training base for the secretive Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD), also commonly referred to as "Z Special Unit". The base was officially known as the Special Boat Section and was used to train operatives in the advanced use of folboat folding kayaks as well as top secret British midget submarines such as the "Motorised Submersible Canoe" ("Sleeping Beauty"), "Welman" and "Welfreighter" submarines. SRD Parties staging out of Careening Bay Camp were sent on clandestine missions into Japanese-occupied territory.
After the end of the war, Garden Island's fortifications were abandoned. The present day naval base on Garden Island came into being in the 1970s. The first stage, the construction of a 4.3-kilometre causeway linking the island with the mainland at Point Peron, was completed in 1973. The Naval Support Facility was completed in 1978 and HMAS Stirling was formally commissioned in the same year.
Since completion of the facility, public access to the island has been restricted to daylight hours, and those areas open to the public are only accessible by sea via private boat under curfew conditions.
Fort Arthur Head Battery, Fremantle
Part of a gun enplacement in the shallows at the northern end of Bather's Beach
Arthur Head, the site of Fremantle's historic Roundhouse, was always in demand for defences, due to its prominent position and its proximity to the port. The first gun battery built on the headland, one of the new Federal Government's first defence projects, was completed in 1908. The battery existed until 1942 when its 6 inch guns were moved north of Fremantle to Leighton. Part of a gun enplacement can be seen in the shallows at the northern end of Bather's Beach. Three rusty poles carried world war II camouflage netting.
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Buckland Hill, Mosman
During The Great War of 1914-18, Buckland Hill was used by the Navy as a signal station. A flagstaff and some huts stood on top of the hill. Then during the Second World War, an anti-aircraft and general purpose battery with underground magazines and radar posts was set up. Buckland Hill now contains a water supply reservoir excavated in 1925 around an obelisk, which is a survey mark.
The World War II fortifications, which became known as the Leighton 6 inch Battery, was commissioned in February 1943. Barracks for the personnel, two coast defence searchlights and other associated facilities were built to serve the battery. Prior to the 6-inch battery moving to Buckland Hill, a 3.7-inch anti aircraft battery had been deployed near what is today the main entrance to the residential estate.
The tenders for the construction of the battery were let in August 1941 and the gun station was then commissioned about two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. This provided Fremantle with a second gun station, the other being in Skinner Street, Fremantle where the John Curtin High School Sports Oval is now situated. In 1944 work commenced on the replacement battery for the Leighton 6-inch Battery. It comprised three 5.25-inch dual-purpose Coast Artillery/ AntiAircraft guns. This battery was known as 802 Battery and was sufficiently advanced by March 1945 for the 6-inch guns to be removed and transferred to the Princess Royal Battery at Albany.
Over 300 metres of tunnels were excavated in places up to 10 metres below ground in which magazines for the storage of ammunition, communications, gun crew rest areas and observation posts were constructed. The Battery Commander was a mining engineer who used his knowledge to develop the complex.
During the operation of the battery there were some 120 to 135 personnel employed within the complex. Men and women alike. In 1942 a number of 6 inch guns were relocated from Arthur Head. They were intended just to be used on a short term basis and so put on temporary mounts. It was hoped that these would be replaced by more modern equipment from the UK. After the war, the battery was used for normal army training. Most of the guns etc were sold for scrap but the facilities were still used by the Army until 1979.
During the operation of the battery there were some 120 to 135 mean and women employed within the complex. After the war, the battery was used for normal army training. Most of the guns etc. were sold for scrap but the facilities were still used by the Army until 1979. The Buckland Hill fortifications are today permanently open for inspection. Tours of the fortifactions are held on Sundays. More >>
Oliver Hill Battery, Rottnest Island
A total of seven Coastal Artillery Batteries were installed around the Australian coastline between 1937 and 1942 to defend major Australian ports from bombardment by warships. The Oliver Hill Battery on Rottnest Island is the only remaining underground complex of H1 guns in Australia with possibly only two others worldwide.
The main feature at each of these batteries was a pair of 9.2 inch guns, which could fire an armour piercing shell to a distance of 28 kilometres. By 1960, all of the batteries had become obsolete and were closed down. Whilst the others were stripped of their guns, the then Rottnest Island Board was able to arrange with the Department of the Army to have the guns at Oliver Hill left in situ as historic site for island visitors.
Apart from the gun emplacements, Oliver Hill houses underground tunnels, railway lines and paths and remnant coastal defence system structures. A full hour at the battery, at the end of a tourist train ride from the stttlement to the top of Oliver Hill, includes a guided tour through the tunnels. Volunteer guides provide historical information, memorabiia and photos within the tunnels provides even more background.
Swanbourne Battery
A plaque in Allen Park at the top of Melon Hill in suburban Swanbourne marks the site of a battery observation post built and operated on Melon Hill from 1938 to 1963. The post was used to support army coastal defences. Located 500 metres to the north, within the present day Campbell Barracks Swanbourne battery, it was developed and operated by 6 Heavy Battery, Royal Australian Artillery, and formed the northern part of Perth's coastal defence system throughout World War II. The battery consisted of two six inch BL wire MK.VII guns as depicted on mounting central pivot MK.II and had a maximum range of 12800 metres. The battery was never used in action and the facility was scrapped along with most of Perth's coastal defences in 1963.
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