|
The information that follows was obtained from
the Wikipedia free encyclopaedia website, the
Fairfax Australian Travel Guide, The City of
Botany Bay website :
The La Perouse peninsula is the northern
headland of Botany Bay. It is notable for its old
military outpost at Bare Island and the Botany
Bay National Park (Cape Banks). La Perouse is one
of few Sydney suburbs with a French title,
another being Sans Souci. Kurnell is located
opposite, on the southern headland of Botany Bay.
The view of the Cook landing site
(above) was taken from La Perouse.
|
The small island, just inside the heads was
described by Captain James Cook as ‘a small
bare island’. Bare Island was fortified in
1885 according to a design by colonial architect,
James Barnet (1827-1904). In 1912 Bare Island
became a retirement home for war veterans, which
continued to operate until 1963 when it was
handed over to the New South Wales Parks and
Wildlife Service for use as a museum and tourist
attraction.
|
Apart from Bare Island there are two other forts
located in La Perouse, one of them is Fort Banks,
located on Cape Banks. This facility was part of
the Eastern Command Fixed Defences unit and was
constructed for the purpose of defending the
approaches to Botany Bay during the World War II
peroid. The other fortification located in La
Perouse is the Henry Head Battery and was also
re-utilized during the Second World War.
In 1870, the Cardwell reforms of the British Army
meant that British garrison troops withdrew from
Australia. The British Colonial Office insisted
that wealthier colonies such as New South Wales
and Victoria should pay more of their own defence
costs.
In 1871 a number of new defences for the outer
harbour were built. They were immediately out of
date, especially as the development of armaments
continued into the 1880s. Two military advisers,
Scratchley and Jervois, were sent out in the
mid-1870s to coordinate the defence of the
colonies. Their aim was to make sure that
colonial defences had an imperial focus, rather
than serving local interests. Among other things,
Scratchley and Jervois designed a fort at Bare
Island to defend the southern approaches to
Botany Bay which served until after World War I,
with some modification and upgrading. .
In the 1920s the development of the fortress
system reached its peak. Around Sydney there were
two 9.2-inch gun batteries of two guns each at
North Head and Cape Banks. These batteries were
supported by smaller guns along the coast. There
was also an interlocking system of observation
posts and communication and command structures.
Together, these meant that the entire coast from
Broken Bay to Royal National Park was protected.
The defence works developed during this period
are well-engineered, solidly constructed, and
well-sited. They contrast with the fortifications
thrown up during the course of the Second World
War.
After the declaration of war in 1939, some
defences were constructed. When Japan entered the
war in late 1941 temporary gun emplacements were
set up along the coast. In Sydney Harbour,
garrison companies were recruited to guard
strategic installations including the forts,
anti-aircraft guns and searchlights.
|
Fort Banks (right) is the old bunker and
fortification complex that was used to protect
the approaches to Botany Bay Fortifications built
during World War II were put up quickly, and have
deteriorated quickly. It is estimated that of
about one hundred anti-aircraft positions and
searchlight positions, less than half a dozen
remain. Almost nothing of the hundreds of
kilometres of barbed wire laid during the war
survives. Some of the fortifications have been
used as film sets – most recently Bare
Island in Mission Impossible II.
|
