Fort Largs is a historic defence site in the coastal suburb of

Taperoo Taperoo is a suburb in the Australian state of South Australia located on the LeFevre Peninsula in the west of Adelaide about north-west of the Adelaide city centre. Description Taperoo is adjacent to Osborne and Largs North. It is bounded ...

near

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

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 ...

, approximately north west of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

. Fort Largs was built as a

coastal battery 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 ...

installment in 1885, responsible for Adelaide's

coastal defence Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...

. In the 1960s it was repurposed for use as the

police academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or othe ...

of the

South Australia Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for ...

, a role it fulfilled until 2012. In 2014, the site was put up for redevelopment, sparking heritage protests. In June 2016, it was announced the site would be redeveloped for 250 homes; the fort would remain intact, with the

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

converted to apartments and the

drill hall A drill hall is a place such as a building or a hangar where soldiers practise and perform military drills. Description In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, the term was used for the whole headquarters building of a military reserve unit, ...

converted to a community centre.Future of Fort Largs secured with AVJennings and National Trust partnership
Renewal SA, 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.

History

In the late 1800s, visits of Russian ships in South Australian waters were of a friendly nature, but the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 was seen by Britain as part of a potential expansion plan by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

into

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and the Australian colonies were advised to upgrade their defence capabilities. The inadequacy of defences in the colony was seen in 1862, when the ''Svetlana'' sailed into

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

and the fort built had no gunpowder for its cannons to use to return a salute.

William 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 ...

, a Royal Engineer, was commissioned to determine the defence capabilities of all colonies, with the exception of

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 ...

. In his report, he was convinced that the Russian Empire would attack South Australian shipping in an attempt to destroy the local economy. As a result of Jervois' report,

Fort Glanville Fort Glanville Conservation Park is a protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia located in Semaphore Park, a seaside suburb of Adelaide consisting of a functional 19th century fort listed on the South Australian Heritage ...

and Fort Largs were built to protect

. Lieutenant Colonel

Peter Scratchley Major General Sir Peter Henry Scratchley (24 August 1835 – 2 December 1885) was special commissioner for Great Britain in New Guinea 1884–1885 and defence adviser for Australia. Biography Scratchley was born in Paris, thirteenth child of Dr ...

was primarily responsible for the design of both Fort Largs and its nearby precursor

. Work began in 1882 on what was first known as the Port Adelaide battery, to the same specification as Fort Glanville. Its barracks and rear defence wall were finished in 1885. Emphasis for defence of the Adelaide coast had shifted to Fort Largs by 1888. In 1889, Fort Largs was equipped with two 6-inch breech-loading disappearing guns which outranged Glanville's armament. Due to this and changes in the Port River and shipping movements, Fort Largs had surpassed Fort Glanville in strategic importance by 1890.NPWS (1988), p.55. In 1984, the fort was entered as a state heritage place in the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

Barracks and drill hall

In May 1939 construction commenced on a two-storied brick barracks for the artillery units based at Fort Largs, plus a brick drill hall for use of the militia. The barracks incorporated a commercial kitchen and mess room, orderly room, canteen and billiard room, and administration rooms. During World War II

BL 6-inch Mk VII naval gun The BL 6-inch gun Mark VII (and the related Mk VIII) was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy travelling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, ...

s were installed. When the police occupied Fort Largs in 1961 that same disposition was continued for several decades, although the barrack rooms were adapted into classrooms for cadet training. In April 2015 the barracks and drill hall were entered as a state heritage place on the South Australian Heritage Register.

Police academy

In the 1960s, a part of the original fort was adapted for use by the nearby South Australian Police academy which was known as Fort Largs Police Academy, the main training facility for

. Parts of the academy site were put up for sale in 2009 and the construction of new police academy housing commenced on a portion of the site immediately east of the old fort. The old academy site has been disused since the 2012 opening of a newer police academy.

Redevelopment

In 2012, new police academy housing was constructed on the east portion of the site and in 2014 the west portion of the site, including the historic defence constructions, was slated for redevelopment. , the Fort Largs site survives in slightly modified condition from its original state. Its tunnels, gun emplacements and storage areas are still largely original. A May 2015 fact sheet produced by Renewal SA stated that the of land to be redeveloped is zoned residential, but any development must not "jeopardise the preservation and maintenance of the Fort, Barracks and Drill Hall", which are included in the site to be redeveloped. In June 2016, Renewal SA announced AVJennings as its preferred tenderer for the redevelopment of part of the site for about 250 homes, with the heritage-listed barracks to be converted to apartments, the drill hall to be retained as a community facility, and the historic fort to be owned and operated by the National Trust of SA.

History

Barracks and drill hall

Police academy

Redevelopment

References

Further reading

See also