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Fort Scratchley, a former coastal defence installation, is now a museum. It is located in

Newcastle East Newcastle East is an inner city suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located immediately east of Newcastle's central business district at the mouth of the Hunter River. The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by City of New ...

, a suburb of

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...

in Australia. It was built in 1882 to defend the city against a possible

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n attack. However, its guns were not fired in anger until 8 June 1942, during the

shelling of Newcastle The Shelling of Newcastle was conducted by the Japanese submarine ''I-21'' in the early hours of 8 June 1942. The bombardment followed the attack on Sydney Harbour on 31 May, and was conducted shortly after ''I-24'' shelled the Eastern Suburbs ...

. The

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal 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 (CA), wh ...

left the site in 1972.

Background

Fort Scratchley is situated atop Flagstaff Hill, overlooking the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

and the

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

, less than from the Newcastle central business district. It is accessed from Nobbys Road, and is directly between Newcastle and Nobbys beaches. Originally built as a coastal defence fort, it is located in a commanding position, guarding the Hunter River estuary. In 2004 the site was closed for renovation which the city hoped would make the fort a major tourist attraction. Unfortunately, as costs rose due to vandalism and an increase in necessary decontamination to the site, progress stalled. The Australian Government funded the project after reaching an agreement with

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

in 2004, and decided to increase its funding from an estimated 5.5 million to almost $10 million after reaching a second agreement in 2007. The government wanted to ensure that the site was repaired correctly as it sees it as a special place in Australia’s military history. The site re-opened in June 2008; a museum on the site was operational by 2009.

History

Founding

Flagstaff Hill is where coal was discovered in the late 18th century. Lieutenant

John Shortland John Shortland (5 September 1769 – 21 January 1810) was an officer of the Royal Navy, the eldest son of John Shortland.68 pounders replaced them in 1874. On 1 April 1878, preparations began for the installation of a battery of four 80 pounder guns upon Allans Hill, it was completed on 19 April.

Design

The fort was completed on 2 April 1882. It was designed by 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 ...

, after whom the fort was named and included three 9-in Rifle Muzzle Loader (RML) guns and a casemated battery of four 80 pounders. In 1889 three 6-inch BL and one 8-in BL

disappearing gun A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate back ...

were installed. The 80 pounders were replaced by quick-firing Nordenfelt machine guns in 1898. Two 6-in BL Mark VIIs replaced the four disappearing guns in 1911. Tents at Fort Scratchley, Newcastle, NSW, 4 April 1903

Tents at Fort Scratchley, Newcastle, NSW, 4 April 1903

World War I

During World War I, the fort was upgraded with the provision of a Battery Observation Post constructed in 1914.

World War II

During World War II, the fort was further upgraded with the extension of the Battery Observation Post and provision of Searchlight Directing Station and blast walls were constructed in 1942. The two 6-in BL Mark VII guns fired at the Japanese submarine ''I-21'', which shelled the city on 8 June 1942.

Post World War II

After World War II the fort was home to 13 Medium Coast Battery RAA, a unit of the National Service Scheme, which was renamed 113 Coast Battery RAA in the 1960s. The army left the site in November 1972. The 6-in guns were relocated to King Edward Park, away, as a memorial. However, after extensive lobbying, they were returned to Fort Scratchley in 1978. In the first decade of the 21st century the site underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation and reopened as a museum. In 2014, History show TV presenter Sir Tony Robinson visited the Fort to produce a segment for his show ''Tour of Duty'' which was aired in 2015. In 2015, the Fort's sole Nordenfelt gun was restored to fully functional condition and is fired on special occasions from its position in the underground casemate.

Cannon disposals

Two 68 pounder cannons are now located at

Stroud, New South Wales Stroud is a small country town one hour north of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Mid-Coast Council local government area. The major road through Stroud is the Bucketts Way (The) Bucketts Way is a rural road that lin ...

. An 8-in disappearing gun was sent to North Head Artillery School for training purposes. A Signal cannon was relocated to

Georges Heights Georges Heights is an urban locality in the suburb of Mosman, adjoining Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Georges Heights is located in the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman and is part of the Lower North ...

, Sydney, then relocated to

Puckapunyal Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Vic ...

, Army Barracks in

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 ...

. The two Mk VII guns were decommissioned in 1965 and relocated to Obelisk Hill as monuments. They were returned to the Fort in 1978 and placed in their original positions. Both were restored by the Fort Scratchley Historical Society in 1992 and are capable of being fired on special occasions for ceremonial and saluting purposes. One of the QF 1.5 inch Nordenfelt guns was removed in 1910 and the other two in the 1930s, all sent to Sydney. One was returned to the Fort in 1985. It was restored in 2015 and is capable of being fired on special occasions.

Engineering heritage

Fort Scratchley received an Engineering Heritage Marker from

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

References

Fort Scratchley Historical Society official website
* Peter Dunn

External links

Fort Scratchley
- site
Stories of Our Town ''Fortress Newcastle''
{{Hunter Region places and items of interest Bunkers in Oceania Scratchley Infrastructure completed in 1882 1882 establishments in Australia Museums in New South Wales Military establishments in the Hunter Region History of Newcastle, New South Wales Military and war museums in Australia Commonwealth Heritage List places in New South Wales Former military installations in New South Wales Tourist attractions in Newcastle, New South Wales Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers