Georges Head Battery, Sydney Harbour

Georges Head battery was built in 1871 after the removal of the British forces from Australia in 1870. Their departure put the onus on New South Wales and Victoria to organise their own defences.

Georges Head Battery was a fortification designed especially to prevent enemy ships from infiltrating the inner harbour. The fort was located high above sea level with strategic views to the entrance of Port Jackson. AS the photograph shows the fort dominated the approaches to Sydney. This is the Manley ferry passing by.

Georges Head was armed with four 80 pounder rifled muzzle loading guns and two 68-pounder guns. The rifled guns were a common weapon in British colonies. It took three months and 250 soldiers to roll the gun barrels all the way from North Sydney to the batteries.

The guns were positioned poorly so there was a risk of one gun firing upon another. Therefore in 1877 large mounds of earth were placed between the pits to make sure the guns could not fire upon each other and to help protect the gun crew from enemy fire.

Defence tactics were planned using telescopes and plotters mounted in the middle of the second gun pit. From the telephone exchange, the Port Jackson District Commandant could communicate with all military installations on the harbour. Telephone cables ran through the tunnels, down the cliff and under the harbour to batteries on the other side.

In 1888 Georges Head was chosen as the best place to observe and fire underwater mines, the latest in harbour defences. These were also installed in Falmouth at Pendennis Castle. Each underwater mine was attached to an electric cable that ran up the cliff to a firing post. From there, the operators watched for ships entering the harbour. Their job was to explode the mine closest to an approaching enemy ship. Minefields were laid across the main shipping channels of Port Jackson from 1876 to 1922.