{{redirect, Beehive Bunker, the crisis management command centre under The Beehive in New Zealand, National Crisis Management Centre Inside beehive casemate

Beehive Casemate is a historical fortification located on the banks of Obelisk Bay, in

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is part of the

Sydney Harbour National Park The Sydney Harbour National Park is an Australian national park comprising parts of Port Jackson, Sydney and its foreshores and various islands. The national park lies in New South Wales and was created progressively, from 1975. The national ...

Description and history

Construction of the casement began in 1871 and was completed in 1874. The fort was constructed under the supervision of colonial architect

James Barnet James Johnstone Barnet, (1827 in Almericlose, Arbroath, Scotland – 16 December 1904 in Forest Lodge, Sydney, New South Wales) was the Colonial Architect for Colonial New South Wales, serving from 1862 to 1890. Early life Born the son of a ...

. 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 Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...

. 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 Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

. 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 Sow and Pigs Reef is a rocky reef in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , su ...

, within the entrance to Sydney Harbour.{{cite web, url=http://www.arup.com/australasia/project.cfm?pageid=8430, title=Beehive Casemates, Sydney Harbour National Park, author=, website=Arup, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122113254/http://www.arup.com/australasia/project.cfm?pageid=8430, archivedate=22 November 2007 Beehive casemate obelisk bay

References

{{reflist {{Barracks Batteries Bunkers and Forts in Sydney {{coord, 33, 49, 39, S, 151, 16, 5, E, display=title Former Barracks in Australia Buildings and structures in Sydney Bunkers in Oceania Forts in New South Wales History of Sydney James Barnet buildings in Sydney