![6 inch Mk XI gun and crew Moreton Island Qld Nov 1943 AWM 060072](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/6_inch_Mk_XI_gun_and_crew_Moreton_Island_Qld_Nov_1943_AWM_060072.jpg)
Fort Cowan Cowan is a heritage-listed
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
at 30 Jessie Wadsworth Street,
Moreton Island
Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) is an island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. The Coral Sea lies on the east coast of the island. Moreton Island lies northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane. ...
,
City of Brisbane
The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of the metropolitan area of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. Unlike LGAs in the other mainl ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia. It is also known as RAN 3 Cowan Cowan, Fort Cowan and Cowan Cowan Battery. It was added to the
Queensland Heritage Register
The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 1 October 2007.
The fort's main armament consisted of two
BL 6 inch Mk XI naval gun
The BL 6-inch Mark XI naval gun was a British 50 calibres high-velocity naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on cruisers and secondary armament on pre-dreadnought battleships from 1906 onwards.
History
The gun with its increased ...
s.
History
Fort Cowan Cowan is a
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
defence facility located on the western side of Moreton Island in
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
. The fort was commissioned by the
Queensland Government
The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...
in 1935 and constructed in 1937. It was operational until 1945 after which operations were scaled down and was eventually officially closed in 1960.
[
Fort Cowan Cowan was part of a network of artillery installations designed to defend ]Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
and Moreton Bay from attack by sea and which were in turn part of a larger scheme begun in 1935 to upgrade coastal defences. It was completed in 1937 and contributed to the coastal defence of Queensland until the end of the Second World War. Within the perimeter of Fort Cowan Cowan, which belonged to the Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
, the Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
(RAN) also had a presence with their RAN3 defence establishment.[
Moreton Bay was named by Lieutenant ]James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
after James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton
James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, KT, PRS (1702 – 12 October 1768) was a Scottish astronomer and representative peer who was president of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh from its foundation in 1737 until his death. He also became ...
, the then president of the Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in Britain who had been influential in raising a grant of for the voyage of HMS Endeavour
HMS ''Endeavour'' was a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Australia and New Zealand on his First voyage of James Cook, first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771.
She was launched in 1764 as the Coll ...
in its search for Terra Australis
(Latin: '"Southern Land'") was a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its existence was not based on any survey or direct observation, but rather on the idea that ...
. Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
then named Moreton Island in 1799 after the bay. European settlement on Moreton Island began in 1848 when the Queensland Department of Harbours and Marine built a pilot station
Pilot Station ( esu, Tuutalgaq) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 568 at the 2010 census, up from 550 in 2000.
Geography
Pilot Station is located at (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of t ...
near Bulwer on the north western side of the island to guide vessels through the passages of Moreton Bay. This was followed by the building of the Cape Moreton
Cape Moreton is a rocky headland at the north eastern tip of Moreton Island in South East Queensland, Australia. The surrounding area is part of the Moreton Island National Park. Flinders Reef is north-west of Cape Moreton.
The outcrop is mos ...
Lighthouse in 1857, at the northerly tip of the island and then the Comboyuro Light
Moreton Island is a large sand island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. Due to the island's importance in navigating the northern passage into Moreton Bay and Brisbane, at least five lighthouses ...
house in 1877.[
A telegraph office opened at ]Cape Moreton
Cape Moreton is a rocky headland at the north eastern tip of Moreton Island in South East Queensland, Australia. The surrounding area is part of the Moreton Island National Park. Flinders Reef is north-west of Cape Moreton.
The outcrop is mos ...
in August 1864, followed by a schoolroom in 1879. A telegraph line
Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...
was constructed during the 1890s, to service the lighthouse. A Morse Lamp for signalling was installed at Cape Moreton . The lamp is recorded as having a range of and as being in constant use for signalling purposes. Signal flags
International maritime signal flags are various flags used to communicate with ships. The principal system of flags and associated codes is the International Code of Signals. Various navies have flag systems with additional flags and codes, and ...
were used for daytime communication. A post office opened at Cape Moreton in 1915, and closed in the early 1920s with the lightkeepers serving as post masters during this period. Moreton Island was also the site of Queensland's only whaling station
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry a ...
. In operation from 1952 to 1962, it closed after declining whale numbers made it unfeasible to continue. Today, Moreton Island has a small permanent population spread among three townships, Kooringal, Bulwer and Cowan Cowan
Cowan Cowan is an island town and locality in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Cowan Cowan had a population of 28 people.
History
In the 2011 census, Moreton Island (including Cowan Cowan) had a populatio ...
and is primarily viewed as a holiday/recreational destination.[
Prior to the 1860s, defence of the Australian colonies had been solely the responsibility of the ]British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
. Britain considered that the Imperial Navy would always provide the first line of defence in any threat to her colonial empire, but from 1863 required the Australian colonies, by then self-governing, to contribute toward the costs of maintaining Imperial garrisons on colonial soil, and encouraged the colonies to provide for their own military infrastructure such as fortifications and barracks. Queensland, which had separated from New South Wales on June 6, 1859, could not afford to contribute to Imperial defence, and so Imperial troops were gradually withdrawn from the colony - the last leaving by 1870. In the 1860s Queensland established a number of volunteer defence units, based on the British model, but their effectiveness was severely impaired by a lack of armaments and ammunition.[
By the 1870s the Australian colonies were developing rapidly and were concerned with potential threats from colonial powers such as Russia and France (the latter had annexed ]New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
in 1873). In 1877 the colonial governments of 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 ...
, Queensland, Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, anxious to secure the land defence of their coastlines, jointly invited British Royal Engineers Colonel Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois
Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (10 September 1821 – 17 August 1897) was a British military engineer and diplomat. After joining the British Army in 1839, he saw service, as a second captain, in South Africa. In 18 ...
and Lieutenant-Colonel Peter H Scratchley, to inspect existing defence installations and make recommendations as to how these might be improved. Scratchley's particular expertise was in the design and construction of deterrent coastal fortresses. Jervois and Scratchley identified maritime attacks as the greatest threat to Australia, and recommended that coastal defences be developed for all the mainland colonies. Despite being physically closer to the source of most threats, Queensland, with its sparse population and limited resources, was not considered to be greatly at risk. In his August 1877 preliminary report on Queensland coastal defences, Jervois identified the principal threat to Queensland security as an attack from the sea on the major ports (Brisbane, Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...
and Maryborough), in the form of city bombardment to secure supplies and coal, rather than for permanent occupation. This report was the first to seriously propose the defence of Moreton Bay although due to prohibitive costs the proposal was not supported at the time.[
As events in Europe and Asia in the 1930s moved the world towards war, various sectors of Australia's defence, including coastal fortifications, were examined. There was an increased emphasis on defence rearmament from 1935. As major cities and ports along the coastline would be exposed to damage from naval raids or attack, coastal defences were to be upgraded. Batteries were established in ]Sydney
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 Mountain ...
, Darwin and along the Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
coast. Invasion was not a major concern at this stage, rather the batteries were for defence against seaborne shelling or the torpedoing of ports. The defence of the Moreton Bay region was concentrated on the mouth of the Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...
at Fort Lytton
Fort Lytton is a heritage-listed 19th century coastal fort in the suburb of Lytton in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The name “Fort Lytton” is also used to describe the military base that surrounded the fort. Fort Lytton was built in ...
(now part of Fort Lytton National Park
Fort Lytton National Park is a national park in Lytton, Queensland, Lytton, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Its main attraction is ''Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct'', providing guided tours of historic Fort Lytton, a museum and ...
), constructed in 1880–1881, until the mid 1930s, when attempts were made to upgrade the region's defence.[
Prior to the building of Fort Cowan Cowan, attitudes towards defence were changing. Military experts were supporting the implementation of more mobile defence forces, as opposed to fixed facilities. Technology was changing for both weaponry and shipping and as such, defensive techniques were constantly under review. The government's plan of building coastal defence forts for protection was a somewhat outdated 19th century response to a modern 20th century situation. Unlike previous wars in which sea-based attacks were prevalent, the ]war in the Pacific
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...
in the 1940s was far more about aerial warfare
Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control o ...
. Therefore, coastal defence forts were not necessarily the most appropriate or effective defence plan the government could have implemented.[
The shipping channels in Moreton Bay simplified the proposed placement of batteries. The major access route into the Brisbane River was the northwest channel, which ran close to the shore near ]Caloundra
Caloundra ( ) is a coastal town and the southernmost town in the Sunshine Coast Region in South East Queensland, Australia.
Geography
Caloundra is north of the Brisbane central business district. Caloundra is accessible from Landsborough ra ...
, across the bay in a southeasterly direction towards Moreton Island, and then south westerly towards the mouth of the river, forming a Z-shaped route. This dictated the ideal positions for artillery batteries, with the most effective sites for guns being the closest points to the channel bends.[
There were two naval establishments within the army site of Fort Cowan Cowan, consisting of a Port War Signal Station (PWSS), also referred to as the Naval Signal Station (which pre-dated the construction of Fort Cowan Cowan) and the naval station (RAN3). The naval station was responsible for the two controlled minefields, one in Pearl Channel (called M11) and one in the main channel off Cowan Cowan (M5).][
Fort Cowan Cowan was built according to standard military plans that were modified to suit the sandy terrain. Construction of the fortifications commenced late 1936 and were completed by September 1937. Structures included the gun emplacements, command tower, observation post, engine rooms, pump house, jetty, well, mess rooms, washrooms, latrines, equipment stores and water services. The site included the installation of a reticulated water and sewerage system, which was unusual for the time considering the majority of the greater Brisbane area was not sewered until the 1960s.This seems to be related to a hygiene report on the site during construction of the fort which recommended the system for reasons of maintenance costs and adherence to modern sanitary practices.][
Fort Cowan Cowan took over the role of an Examination Battery from Fort Lytton. The function of the Examination Service was to identify and ascertain the character and intentions of vessels seeking to enter defended ports. Merchant vessels approaching a port would be met by an Examination Vessel, stationed permanently at the Examination Anchorage near the entrance to the port. If an approaching vessel could not be identified, it was directed to proceed to the Examination Anchorage under the observation of the Examination Battery, and further investigation was undertaken. The major function of the Naval Signal Station appears to have been to receive signals from the Examination Vessels and relay messages to the gunnery, rather than to send signals which would have revealed the position of the battery.][
The first real indication of enemy naval presence in proximity to Brisbane occurred on 24 March 1942 when a suspected Japanese submarine was sighted east of ]Stradbroke Island
Stradbroke Island, also known as Minjerribah, was a large sand island that formed much of the eastern side of Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Queensland until the late 19th century. Today the island is split into two islands: North Stradbroke Islan ...
. Two bombs were dropped on it but there has never been any evidence that the submarine was destroyed. On 4 June 1942 another Japanese submarine, identified as "I.29" was sighted off Moreton Island. This submarine was later identified as one of the vessels involved in the midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour on 31 May 1942. On 14 May 1943, the Australian Hospital Ship ''Centaur'' was struck and sunk off the Brisbane coastline by the Japanese submarine, "I.177". Of the 332 people on board only 64 survived to be rescued by the American destroyer, USS Mugford
USS ''Mugford'' may refer to the following ships of the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is ...
. The last attack to occur in the approaches to the Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane is the shipping port and coastal suburb of the City of Brisbane, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. In the , Port of Brisbane had no residents living in the suburb. The port is the largest in the state of Queensland.
...
, took place on 4 June 1943 off Cape Moreton when the Japanese submarine "I.174" fired on the American ship MV Edward Chambers. The submarine withdrew when return fire was given. Although there was clearly hostile activity present in the waters off Brisbane, the only recorded combat firing that took place at Fort Cowan Cowan was on 4 March 1942 when the battery fired upon the trading vessel, SS Tambor, after it failed to give proper identification. This incident resulted in the loss of three crewmen's lives.[
Fort Cowan Cowan was in operation until 1945 when instructions were issued for all coastal defences, except those in Darwin, Sydney and ]Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
, to be scaled down and kept in a state of care and maintenance. With the reassessment of Australia's defensive arrangements in the 1950s, the role of artillery batteries in coastal defence diminished. The government recognised that the nature of modern warfare had changed and fixed coastal defences were no longer considered a necessary part of defensive plans. At this time Brisbane was still a defended port but by 1960 this arrangement was redefined and Fort Cowan Cowan closed.[
Although Moreton Island is primarily a tourist destination, it does have three small townships. Since closing, much of Fort Cowan Cowan has been removed, destroyed or has disappeared into the residential landscape of the Cowan township. In some cases, buildings from the complex have been converted for other uses such as holiday accommodation. Moreton Bay Boat Club (MBBC) has leased Lot 46 C9562 which comprises a number of interlinking concrete paths, the four magazine huts, the foundations of the kitchen and soldiers' mess, store hut and the concrete water tank. MBBC have converted the magazine huts and storage hut into accommodation blocks for use by club members. The two gun emplacements remain in situ on the beach although over the years the tide line has moved progressively closer to them. Their condition has deteriorated and both emplacements are listing dangerously on their foundations as the sand shifts from under them.][
]
Description
Fort Cowan Cowan is located at Cowan Cowan Village, Moreton Island. The area is approximately square, roughly triangular in shape and stretches along the western beach from the Cowan Cowan Lighthouse in south to the northern end of Cowan Cowan Village. Jessie Wadsworth Street forms part of the eastern boundary.[
The site comprises a number of structures, all built in 1937, including two gun emplacements, concrete paths, four magazine huts, ]foundations
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
of kitchen and soldiers' mess, storage hut, engine room, underground sewerage and piping and a concrete tank.[
The two ]gun emplacement
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...
s are constructed from reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
and consist of an enclosed gun platform
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fa ...
with metal blast door
A blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from blasts and explosions, like those from bombs, or in hazardous worksites, such as on oil and gas refineries or petrochemical facilities. It differs from a fallout shelter, ...
s and rooms beneath which are actually underground. The emplacements were originally situated behind the first dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
s however as the beach has lost sand due to erosion the emplacements are now close to the tide line. Most of the walls have shifted and tilted as the erosion has undermined the gun platforms and the platforms on both emplacements have separated from the rear sections and tipped forwarded onto the beach. As erosion proceeds, the potential for ongoing collapse is high. In addition, structural timbers have become decayed, been destroyed by fires, or have been removed. The lack of structural support means that walls are not tied together and are in an advanced state of collapse.[
The doors on Number 1 (northern) emplacement have been removed and placed flat on the platform however, the underground room, steps and metal doors are intact. In the case of Number 2 (southern) emplacement, the blast doors have swung open and are hanging downwards, should either the supporting wall or the door hinge fail, the door and/or attached wall will topple onto the beach. The gun platform has effectively disarticulated from the underground section. The top section of the wall supporting the southern blast door has snapped and fallen onto the foundations.][
The concrete pathways lead from the gun emplacements to the magazine huts and between the huts. Although cracked, the paths are still largely intact and clearly visible.][
The four magazine huts and storage hut have been converted into accommodation blocks but still retain a large degree of original appearance including the roof vents.][
The concrete slab foundations of kitchen and soldiers' mess remain intact and visible.][
There are visible remains of the engine room and concrete pipes from the reticulated water and sewerage system.][
A concrete tank is still intact and visible.][
]
Heritage listing
Fort Cowan Cowan (also known as the Cowan Cowan Battery) was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register
The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 1 October 2007 having satisfied the following criteria.[
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
The Fort Cowan Cowan Second World War fortifications, constructed in 1937, are important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland's history, being part of the preparations for the defence of Australia, in particular the Moreton Bay region, during the 1930s and the Second World War. It demonstrates the evolution of Queensland's coastal defences, which began in the 1880s with the construction of Fort Lytton at the mouth of the Brisbane River and included a signal station at Cowan Cowan prior to Fort Cowan Cowan's construction.][
It is important for the intactness of the physical evidence of the Second World War defence scheme, and retains additions and alterations which illustrate the evolution of Queensland's defence planning and of military process and technology up to the 1940s. The place is significant as part of a co-ordinated system of coastal defence in Australia.][
The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.
Fort Cowan Cowan demonstrates uncommon surviving evidence of a largely intact and interpretative Second World War battery complex which incorporates a number of structures including two gun emplacements, concrete paths, four magazine huts, foundations of kitchen and soldiers' mess, storage hut, engine room, underground sewerage and piping and concrete tanks.][
Fort Cowan Cowan provides rare surviving evidence of a Second War World coastal fortification in Queensland, and is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of its type, with gun emplacements in situ.][
The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history.
Fort Cowan Cowan is representative of Second World War coastal defence batteries in Australia and is one of the first large-scale fortified installations to be constructed on a Queensland island. It has the potential to yield information that will contribute to the understanding of Queensland's history due to the extensive remnants of Second World War fortification sites, which includes both Army and Naval defences. It also has potential to yield information about the relationship between Fort Cowan Cowan and the other defence batteries in the Moreton Bay area that complete the coastal defence system.][
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.
Fort Cowan Cowan is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of Australia's Second World War coastal defence fortifications including Mark X1 batteries modified to suit the terrain with emplacements being constructed of reinforced concrete with magazines to the rear of the gun platform rather than below.][
The inclusion of a sewerage and pressurised water reticulation system, including plumbing and underground piping systems, at Fort Cowan Cowan was unusual for the late 1930s as the majority of the greater Brisbane area was not sewered until the 1960s.][
The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
Fort Cowan Cowan is important in exhibiting a range of aesthetic characteristics valued by the community including a sense of place, isolation, landmark quality of the gun emplacements, particularly when viewed from the sea; a sense of discovery; and the form, scale and materials of Fort Cowan Cowan and the Royal Australian Navy Station 3 fortifications.][
The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.
Fort Cowan Cowan has a strong association with military activity in Queensland, as a site for defence, training and military support and with the Australian Military Force and Royal Australian Navy.][
]
References
Attribution
External links
* {{cite web, url=http://indicatorloops.com/comboyuro.htm, title=Photographs and other information re: Fort Cowan Cowan
Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register
Batteries in Australia
Bunkers in Oceania
Forts in Australia
History of Brisbane
Military buildings and structures in Queensland
Moreton Island
Queensland Heritage Register
Queensland in World War II
World War II sites in Australia