Muzzle blast Fort Scratchley Historical Society Newsletter November 2012

In this Issue: President’s Report Page 2

Secretary’s Report Page 3

The Fort and Society showcased Page 4

October Open Day Page 5

Our Volunteers head south Page 6

From the Photography Archives Page 7

Management Committee Page 8

Retired President Bill Hopkins presented with a plaque and award by President Frank Carter on 1st October 2012

in recognition of his outstanding service and leadership (President 1999—2012) Image: Ron Barber

President’s Report

2 Fort Scratchley Historical Society Inc

Also available at the Fort kiosk are the uncirculated coin

sets issued to commemorate the Siege of Australia. One

of the twenty cent coins features the Fort’s Mark V11

guns.

I thank all the volunteers for their continued efforts over

the last 12 months. Without the input from this dedicated

group your Society would not be able to continue to

provide the “Fort Experience” enjoyed by the ever

increasing number of visitors. I would also like to

acknowledge the assistance received from the City of

Newcastle representatives. As President I find their daily

input invaluable.

The recent AGM has seen a change in the makeup of

the Committee. I am sure they are up to the

challenges that will confront the Society in the next 12

months.

Lastly, with the festive season approaching please take

care on the roads and I wish everyone a merry family

Christmas and a happy, healthy 2013. Your Committee

and I look forward to your continued support.

Regards

Frank Carter

T he end of yet another year is fast approaching

and one wonders where the time has gone. Your

Society continues to grow and achieve recognition

locally, nationally, and internationally.

Things have settled down since the retirement of Bill

Hopkins though the learning curve for me is still fairly

steep. Once again Bill, many thanks for your efforts over

the last 13 years.

The past 12 months has seen continuous improvements

in our displays and ongoing restoration activities. These

include:

Allocation of $20,000 from Society funds to

complete Room 3 of the Museum

Commencement of shell hoists restoration located

in the tunnels

Research and planning for the stage 1

restoration of the Western Barbette.

Included in this issue is an insert detailing the major and

minor projects agreed on by the Committee. Although

not definitive, the list provides a direction for our ongoing

grant application and fundraising efforts.

The recent October long weekend saw a major

promotion conducted by radio station 2NUR. This

saw crowds estimated in excess of 1600 visit the Fort on

the Monday holiday and certainly lifted the spirits of all

the volunteers on duty. My personal thanks to 2NUR for

their assistance, it is greatly appreciated and will

hopefully see them back again next year for a similar

promotion.

I would like to remind everyone of the “Music of the

Guns” concert scheduled for February. This is designed

as a major fund raiser for the Society, with only 1000

seats available. Tickets are on sale at the kiosk and are

now available to the public. Please note there will be no

door sales on the night of the concert.

A pondering moment on 1st October Open Day

Secretary’s Report

Volume 31 – Issue3 November 2012 3

I t was a rather different Annual General Meeting this

year. Frank Carter gave the Presidential report,

rather than Bill Hopkins who had been in the chair for the

past 13 years. Bill had earlier resigned from the

President’s position and could not attend due to other

commitments. It was a very interesting and informative

meeting. Frank Carter gave his first Presidential report,

Frank Graham gave his first Treasurer’s report and Ron

Barber reported on the Museum and Library for the first

time.

David Morrow stepped ‘into the breech’ again to conduct

the election of office bearers for the 2012/13 year. He

was ably assisted by Neville Dunbar and Allan Nadin as

scrutineers. Frank Carter was declared elected

President of the Society unopposed, Carl Christie was

elected Vice President unopposed as were Frank

Graham and Terry O’Brien as Treasurer and Secretary

respectively. An amendment to the Society’s

Constitution was adopted by the meeting adding the

position of Publicity Officer to the Management

Committee of the Society. Rod Davies was elected to

this position unopposed.

This left six positions to be filled on the Management

Committee for which there were seven candidates. An

initial ballot was conducted.

Following which David Morrow declared the following

members to have been elected: Al Murphy, Ron

Barber, Peter Hair, Graham Postlethwaite and Jim

Raine.

The two remaining candidates, Lionel Keevers and John

Cater had received the same number of votes. Another

ballot was held for the remaining position and again both

candidates received the same number of votes. It was

agreed that the final position on the Committee would be

determined by a draw from a hat. Lionel Keevers was

successful in gaining the final position.

The following day Jim Raine resigned from the

Committee for personal reasons and John Cater was

invited to fill the vacant position, which he agreed to do.

Overall an unprecedented chain of events.

On an administrative matter, would all members notify

the Office of any change to their contact details,

particularly changes to any email address. To minimise

administrative costs, we try and send notices etc to a

member’s email address rather than by post. If we do

not have notification of changes to contact details,

important notices can sometimes not be received by

members.

Thank you for your continued cooperation.

Terry O’Brien

Wishing our members and their families a safe and festive holiday season From Management Committee

and Editor

The Fort and Society showcased

4 Fort Scratchley Historical Society Inc

Claudia King from Merewether High School informed the

audience of the important role that Fort Scratchley

played on the night of 8th June 1942 in repelling the

Japanese Imperial class submarine I-21 when it began

its attack on Newcastle.

Recently, Tim Owen AM MP honoured the great work of

Fort Scratchley Historical Society in Parliament. Below is

the exert of this recognition.

Tim Owen noted that on 8 June 2012 the Fort Scratchley

Historical Society hosted a dinner to mark the official

opening of an exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary

of the World War II defence of Newcastle; the 130th

anniversary of the construction of Fort Scratchley; and

the 30th anniversary of the Fort Scratchley Historical

Society.

Tim also acknowledged that the success of the three day

celebrations is a credit to the members of the Fort

Scratchley Historical Society, who work tirelessly to

preserve the City of Newcastle’s history.

The record of proceedings can be found on NSW

Parliament web site under Hansard for Tim Owen on

13th September 2012.

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/

V3Key/LA20120913059?open&refNavID=HA8_1

B attle for Australia Commemoration is held each

year at the Civic Park Cenotaph, honouring those

who protected Australia during 1942-1945. This year’s

service acknowledged Fort Scratchley in the direct

defence of Newcastle during the Battle for Australia.

The ceremony was conducted on 5th September 2012,

commencing at 11.00am. Jim Raine was the Master of

Ceremonies, with principal guests Mrs Maud O’Brien

(AWAS), Mrs Grace Jones (AWAS), and Major Carl

Christie RFD, ED, JP (Retd), all involved with Fort

Scratchley, with Carl being the last Commandant.

Acknowledgement of the Allied Nations in the Battle for

Australia was provided by Year 10 History Students from

Merewether High School. It was a highly professional

presentation by the students, along with Hunter School

of Performing Arts and Newcastle East Public School.

Battle for Australia

Catafalque Party: RAAF Williamtown

Frank Carter & Carl Christie laying a tribute

on behalf of FSHS

In NSW Parliament

October Long Weekend

Volume 31 – Issue 3 November 2012 5

Images: Margaret Gayler & Ron Barber

Our Volunteers head south

6 Fort Scratchley Historical Society Inc

a line of electro-contact mines placed across the harbor

entrance under fire of the Bare Island guns.

The design of the Fort is semi circular facing south east

towards the entrance to the Bay. One can see

Scratchley’s influence in the design.

It was also in its later days the first home for Veterans of

the Maori, Indian Mutiny, and Boar War Veterans. On the

main wall is a sandstone block with the date 1885 carved

into it indicating, I presume, the date of completion. On

the whole a very interesting place to visit.

The day was arranged by our own Capt Snooze (therein

lies another story) and was enjoyed by all who attended.

After the tour we adjourned to a restaurant some 200

metres down the road where most enjoyed a plate of fish

and chips and other delicacies before preparing for our

trip back to Newcastle.

Images: Mary Tarrant & Graham Postlethwaite

R ecently, some of our Fort volunteers had a day off

and visited Bare Island Fort situated in Botany

Bay, in the La Perouse area, which played an important

military role due to its location at the entrance to Botany

bay. It is connected to the mainland by an old wooden

bridge. It is actually an island, as can be seen by the

photograph, and is under the control of National Parks

and Wildlife.

We were met by the caretaker who resides at the Fort

with his family, who gave us a tour throughout the

establishment.

The Fort was actually built by James Johnstone Barnet

but was inspected by Jervois and Scratchley, who

prepared a design and construction drawings, with

Barnet preparing the specifications. Unfortunately, Bare

Island Fort was of poor quality when built, and eventually

Barnet was found guilty of gross indifference to his

duties and insubordination.

The Fort itself I did think was a little run down and does

require some major work to bring it back to its originality.

Whether this gets done is another matter but it would be

a shame to see it deteriorate further as it is still

recoverable.

The original guns were two 9 inch and one 10 inch rifled

muzzle loaders, two 80 pounders, and a 6 inch Mk 5

gun. As well, two disappearing guns were to be situated

about a kilometer east of Bare Island at Henry Head

Battery. The defence of Botany Bay was also secured by

John Cater

From the Photography Archives

Volume 31 – Issue 3 November 2012 7

Bev Dunbar, Ron Barber & John Notley

T he three photographs featured in this article are

probably the oldest photographs of the Fort Site

we have in the collection. There are, however, numerous

paintings and etchings of the site from earliest settlement

times. Copies of many of these are held within the

photograph collection. Some of them show the signal

tower and some the Pagoda.

Photograph one – circa 1870, shows the site of Fort

Scratchley from Nobbys. It was then called Flagstaff Hill

and shows the Harbour Master Captain Allen’s Cottage.

Stretching to the right from the shoreward end of the

breakwater can be seen the viaduct over which stone for

the breakwater, quarried at Waratah and transported to

the harbour, was delivered from there to the final

destination.

The second photograph is of a group of artillerymen

around a muzzle loading 68-pounder mounted on a

wooden platform. It was one of four installed on “Captain

Allen’s Hill” in 1878. The name changed to Fortification

Hill after the guns were installed. They were installed to

protect Newcastle from attack, probably by Russia. Two

guns faced east and the other two faced north to protect

the harbour.

The temporary installations were very quickly put in

place. The decision to install them was reported on the

1st April 1878 and a report on 1st May 1878 described

how one emplacement was complete and a second

started (Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners

Advocate).

When Fort Scratchley was constructed these guns were

replaced by four Rifled Muzzle Loading 80-pound guns,

three in the casemate and one in the western barbette.

Two of the four guns are now located, as a memorial, on

Silo Hill in Stroud.

Photograph three came into our collection after one of

John Cater and Jim Raines’ talks to a community group.

It was taken in 1881 and shows some of the early earth-

works during the construction of Fort Scratchley.

As well as being in our collection these photos and a

number of others of Fort Scratchley may be found in The

Newcastle University Cultural Collection – published on

“flikr”, the Newcastle Library Local History Collection,

and the Newcastle Herald picture archives which are

held by the Newcastle Library.

8 Fort Scratchley Historical Society Inc

Management Committee:

President: Frank Carter

Vice President: Carl Christie RFD, ED, JP

Secretary: Terry O’Brien RFD, ED

Treasurer: Frank Graham

Committee: Ron Barber

John Cater

Peter Hair

Lionel Keevers

Al Murphy

Graham Postlethwaite

Publicity Officer: Rod Davies

Appointed Officers:

Public Officer: Terry O’Brien

Web Master: Bruce Carter

RSL Rep: David Edmond

BECOME A VOLUNTEER AT FORT

SCRATCHLEY. - THERE ARE MANY

AND VARIED JOBS. - DO SOMETHING

INTERESTING WITH YOUR TIME.

Contact the Society’s Office and leave your

name: Ph: (02) 49 29 3066

E-mail: fortscratchley@bigpond.com

Website: www.fortscratchley.org.au

PRIVACY STATEMENT

Information contained in this

Newsletter is only for the members

of the Fort Scratchley Historical

Society Incorporated.

From the Editor: If you have an interesting story,

funny jokes etc please send it to Janise White c/- the

Admin Office. The next issue of Muzzle Blast will be

February 2013. Don’t forget our next Open Day on

Australia Day 26th Janiary 2013.

No responsibility is accepted for any errors,

omissions, or other shortcomings of this and other

issues of this Newsletter “MUZZLEBLAST”.

The Jokes Column

The Chicken Gun

Scientists at NASA built a gun specifically to launch standard four pound dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, military jets and the space shuttle, all travelling at maximum velocity. The idea is to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test the strength of the windshields. British engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it on the windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrangements were made, and a gun was sent to the British engineers. When the gun was fired the engineers stood shocked as the chicken hurled out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens, blasted through the control console, snapped the engineer’s back-rest in two, and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin, like an arrow shot from a bow. The horrified Brits sent NASA the disastrous results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield, and begged the U.S. scientists for suggestions. NASA responded with a one-line memo…….. “Defrost the chicken”. (allegedly a true story)