Exploring Point Peron

It never ceases to amaze me that every time I visit Point Peron, there is always something new to find or see. Many of the historic ruins remain hidden in the bush, largely forgotten, yet often accessible via well-worn informal tracks that allow entry with minimal disturbance to the surrounding environment.

 

Despite decades of neglect (now 80 years!), the only way to encounter many of these places is to step off the formal paths. Otherwise, they risk remaining unseen altogether. Very little appears to be done to care for or stabilise what survives and the ruins continue to erode under the combined effects of time, weather and ongoing environmental damage.

 

Hidden ruins in the bush

On one recent visit, I was surprised to come across a set of stairs I’d never seen before. They were in relatively good condition and would have once led to a cluster of five small buildings, which may have been cottages, near the location of the artesian bore. Two of these buildings were already in existence prior to 1926.

 

On one side, a drain opening is visible in the surrounding scrub, possibly associated with a toilet. In close proximity lies an old Metters oven door. This appears to be the same type of oven door I’d found earlier in the bush near what is believed to be the mess hall, north-east of the nearby barracks.

 

Mapping Camp K Battery

The closest document resembling a blueprint for Camp K Battery is a drawing dated 26 February 1943. Titled Point Peron Camp Block Plan, it carries the approval stamp of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Western Command, Major-General Allan J Boase.

 

The Western Command, previously known as the 5th Military District, was an administrative district of the Australian Army formed shortly after Federation in 1901. It covered Western Australia, excluding the Kimberley region, with headquarters at Swan Barracks in Perth.

 

Following the First World War, the district became the 5th District Base, before being renamed Western Command in October 1939 as the Army adopted a geographic command structure. In April 1942 it was reorganised as III Corps, before reforming once again as Western Command in June 1944.

 

Changes on the ground

None of the ruins shown in the following photographs appear on the original Camp Block Plan, nor is there any reference to the water tank or artesian bore. This suggests these features formed part of K Battery itself rather than the army camp.

 

The camp as constructed also differs markedly from the original plan. Later aerial and satellite imagery shows additional buildings not included in the drawings, structures built in slightly altered positions and variations in building size and form, all consistent with wartime construction, where plans were frequently adapted on the ground.

 

These sketches form part of a collection of documents made available through the National Archives of Australia, offering valuable, if incomplete, insight into the development and evolution of Camp K Battery.