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Flagstaff Hill Fort is a former military fort at Flagstaff Point,
In 1879 the steamship ‘Havilah’ landed three 4.6 tonne, 68 pounder cannon as part of Wollongong Harbour defences against the threat of possible Russian attack. The cannon were designed to fire a shell weighing up to 1.60 km. They lay unused by the harbour for 18 months without mountings and ammunition. They were finally placed as an inner defense battery by the local volunteer artillery group in 1880. Endeavour Drive now covers the original position.
However, by the mid-1880s it became obvious that enemy cruisers could bombard the port out of range of these obsolete guns.
In 1890 a larger and more modern 6-inch gun was positioned in a concrete pit near the summit of Flagstaff Hill. Underground rooms protected the ammunition and the gunners. By 1893 further fortifications were completed on Smith’s Hill west of Harbour.
Constructed between 1890-1891, the fort was built with a
NSW Heritage Listing
The Guns of Woolongong
{{Barracks Batteries Bunkers and Forts in Sydney Batteries in Australia Buildings and structures in Wollongong Bunkers in Oceania Forts in New South Wales History of Wollongong
Flagstaff Hill Fort is a former military fort at Flagstaff Point, Wollongong, New South Wales
Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...
, 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 ...
.
History
In 1879 the steamship ‘Havilah’ landed three 4.6 tonne, 68 pounder cannon as part of Wollongong Harbour defences against the threat of possible Russian attack. The cannon were designed to fire a shell weighing up to 1.60 km. They lay unused by the harbour for 18 months without mountings and ammunition. They were finally placed as an inner defense battery by the local volunteer artillery group in 1880. Endeavour Drive now covers the original position.
However, by the mid-1880s it became obvious that enemy cruisers could bombard the port out of range of these obsolete guns.
In 1890 a larger and more modern 6-inch gun was positioned in a concrete pit near the summit of Flagstaff Hill. Underground rooms protected the ammunition and the gunners. By 1893 further fortifications were completed on Smith’s Hill west of Harbour.
Constructed between 1890-1891, the fort was built with a 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 ...
emplacement. The fort was dug-out of the hill using face brick walls and then earth was placed over the tunnels. The gun was commissioned and first fired in 1892. The gun emplacement was provided with two range finder positions.
The Wollongong Head Lighthouse
The Wollongong Head Lighthouse, also known as Flagstaff Hill Lighthouse or Flagstaff Point Light, is an active lighthouse located adjacent to the heritage-listed Wollongong Harbour precinct in Wollongong, a coastal city south of Sydney, New Sou ...
was constructed near the fort in 1938.
Armaments
* Muzzle Loaded 68 pound cannon (1880 to 1891) * Breach Loaded 6-inch gun Mk V (150mm) gun (1891 to 1907)
See also
*Military history of Australia
The military history of Australia spans the nation's 230-year modern history, from the early Australian frontier wars between Aboriginals and Europeans to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 21st century. Although this h ...
*Map coordinates :
References
NSW Heritage Listing
The Guns of Woolongong
{{Barracks Batteries Bunkers and Forts in Sydney Batteries in Australia Buildings and structures in Wollongong Bunkers in Oceania Forts in New South Wales History of Wollongong