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Albany Gun Forts
In the Beginning
Settlement in King George Sound was established between 1826-7 in Albany, at the bottom of Western Australia. As the first settlement on this side of Australia, following the construction of a penal outpost in the town, it was to become an important port for steamships from Europe, the Cape, Suez and India.
King George Sound is home to the Princess Royal Fort, also known as The Forts. It was initially called Federal Fortress – King George III Sound.
Upon being sent to King George Sound to formulate a defence report in 1881, which proposed the construction of a Fort in King George Sound, Sir Peter Henry Scratchley, the Defence Advisor to the eastern Australian states, writes “No warship would take on or try to run past a well secured coastal defence fortress unless under dire circumstances or extreme foolhardiness” (Martin, p.7).
Particularly with the increase of trade and an unprotected Albany Port, the Eastern States colonies agreed to jointly fund the construction of the Forts in Albany, six years after the completion of Colonel Scratchley’s report. Any invasion of Albany was seen as a risk that could affect the security of the Eastern States, if something wasn’t done.
For Western Australia, construction of the Princess Royal Battery (378ft ASL on the summit of Mt Adelaide) and Fort Plantagenet (125ft ASL near the shore of Point King, the entrance to the passage into the harbour) began in May 1891 and it would take the British colonial authorities two years to complete. Aside from defending the port, the purpose of the Forts was also to protect the coaling station. It was to become the first federal defence established in Australia.
The Plantagenet Battery was named after a class of British warships, which were used by the British Royal Navy at the time.
Three large coastal guns were installed and positioned to protect the Albany Harbour. Manufactured at the Elswick Ordnance Company in England, these BL 6-in MkVI guns could fire 100lbs (45.35kg) shells over a distance of five (8km) miles, which were adequate to deal with any warship threats at the time.
A twin 6pdf Hotchkiss QF emplacement was constructed in 1904, west of the Plantagenet Battery on the southern slopes of Mount Adelaide. It was to protect the Harbour channel at close range, as well as the nearby mine field (which closed in 1910) and boom gates.
During the annual training shoot in 1910, the A1 gun at the Princess Royal Battery was found to be faulty and subsequently removed and installed at the Artillery Barracks in Fremantle in 1914, where it would remain until the 1960s when it was sold for scrap.
World War 1
During World War 1, Albany’s importance was heightened when it was used as a port of call for troops heading overseas to fight on the frontline in Europe and the Middle East from November 1914.
Whilst the Plantagenet Battery wasn’t directly used for any form of combat, it was maintained as a defensive structure during the First World War
The Princess Royal Battery was extended in 1917 to incorporate a shell store.
Emplacements
Strategically positioned on high ground to enable the guns to have a clear line of sight over the harbour and surrounding waters, the large 6-in calibre coastal defence guns could be aimed at enemy ships entering the port.
Manning the guns was no easy feat! “Asphyxiated from cordite, blinded by the flash of explosive, deafened by the crack and concussion of firing and sweating from the heat and loading of 100lb and 20lb cartridges”(Martin, p.33), training was the only action many posted to the Forts got to see, whilst they watched everyone else being posted abroad where the action was.
Ammunition Storage
Ammunition storage areas near the gun held the shells and powder, although some sources state that this was actually located underneath the mounted guns.
Shelters
A number of underground bunkers and personnel shelters were constructed throughout the Plantagenet Battery site, to help protect gunners and their crew from the effects of enemy fire, should that happen.
Soldiers living onsite to maintain and operate the battery’s defence, were housed in a guardhouse and living quarters.
World War 2
Prior to the start of the Second World War, the Princess Royal Battery was modernised and both guns were replaced in 1938 with two QF “C” 6-in guns, which were being withdrawn from the South Head Battery in Sydney. Installation of these guns was “only a war-pending measure to overcome the age of the original guns at Albany” (Martin, p.16).
The guns were once again replaced when two BL 6-in Mk VII guns, that were initially installed at Arthur Head Battery (Fremantle) in 1904, later moved to form the Leighton Battery before being installed at the Princess Royal Battery Albany in 1945, where they would remain operational until the early 1950s.
Post WW2
In 1956, the last of the Coastal Defences closed down and many areas including that of Albany, were surplus to Defence’s requirements and repurposed. Magazines were emptied, cordite burnt and everything else either sold, relocated or dumped at sea.
Due to the lack of accommodation in the town, the Barracks were used by construction workers employed by the Public Works Department and later as civilian accommodation.
Buildings at the Fort were initially used as a temporary school, when the local Lockyer Primary and Albany High Schools were both filled to capacity. They later became used for holiday homes during the early 1970s.
Developments
The Department of Interior privately sold the Forts to businessman George Robert Mauger in June 1964, who intended to establish holiday accommodation units and a recreation complex on the site. Upon returning to Perth with the signed development papers, he was killed.
Born in East Fremantle and residing in Wagin at the time of his death, Mauger had held the rank of a Lieutenant with HQ Northern Command, after enlisting on 3 November 1939.
An organisation of businessmen formed a company in 1961 called Forts Freehold Pty Ltd (also known as the Forts Holiday Centre Pty Ltd), with the intention of developing the Forts site for one hundred homes, a luxury motel unit, caravan park and service station” (Martin, p.35). Whatever enthusiasm they began with, soon started to wane with difficulties of obtaining finance, amongst other factors.
The Forts Today
Throughout the following decades, the Forts became badly vandalised and dilapidated, whilst ownership and control of the land was heavily debated with uncertainty. Despite the numerous proposals to restore and renovate the Forts, nothing was done for a considerable time.
The Albany Town Council applied to have the land vested in the Town of Albany, which took place when it was published in the Government Gazette on 31 March 1983. By this time, the vandalised and neglected site of the Forts was suggested worthy of demolition by many of the town’s population. Thankfully the Albany Council didn’t share this view and with the assistance of the Commonwealth and Western Australian Government, embarked on a long journey to restoring and developing the site.
Print References
Martin, R. (1988) A Sound Defence: The Story of Princess Royal Fortress King George III Sound Western Australia. Town of Albany.
