Fort Scratchley
Encyclopedia
Fort Scratchley is a former coastal defence installation and now museum, located in Newcastle East
Newcastle East, New South Wales
Newcastle East is an inner city suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located immediately east of Newcastle's central business district at the mouth of the Hunter River. The suburb includes Fort Scratchley, Newcastle Ocean Baths and Newcastle Beach...

, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It was built in 1882 to defend the city against a possible Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n attack. However, its guns were not fired in anger until 8 June 1942, during the shelling of Newcastle
Shelling of Newcastle
The Shelling of Newcastle was conducted by the Japanese submarine I-21 in the early hours of 8 June 1942. The bombardment followed the Attack on Sydney Harbour on 31 May, and was conducted shortly after I-24 shelled the eastern suburbs of Sydney. During the attack I-21 fired 34 shells at Newcastle,...

. After the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...

 left the site in 1972 it became a museum.

Background information

Fort Scratchley is situated atop Flagstaff Hill, overlooking the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

 and the Hunter River, less than 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) from the Newcastle Central Business District. It is accessed from Nobbys Road. It is directly between Newcastle and Nobbys beaches. Originally built as a Coastal Defense Fort, it is located in a command position guarding the Hunter River estuary. The site went through extensive renovation at the turn of the 20th century, which has affected the way it looks and shows how military technology changed during the period of its occupation.

In 2004 the site was closed for renovation which the city hoped would make the fort a major tourist attraction. Unfortunately, as costs rose due to vandalism and an increase in necessary decontamination to the site, the progress stalled. The Australian Government funded the project after reaching an agreement with the Newcastle City Council
City of Newcastle
Newcastle City Council is a Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia.-Demographics:According to the Australian Bureau Statistics the City of Newcastle had an estimated resident population of 154,777 as of 30 June 2008...

 in 2004, and decided to increase its funding from an estimated 5.5 million to almost $10 million after reaching a second agreement in 2007. The government wanted to ensure that the site was repaired correctly as it sees it as a special place in Australia’s military history. The site re-opened in June 2008 and a museum on the site was operational by 2009.

Founding

Flagstaff Hill is the location where coal was discovered in the late 18th century. Lieutenant John Shortland
John Shortland
John Shortland was a naval officer, the eldest son of John Shortland. Shortland joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman and went to Quebec in a transport commanded by his father. From 1783 to 1787 he served in the West Indies. In 1787 he was master's mate in the Sirius when the First Fleet sailed...

 had come upon the land looking for rogue criminals, but his pursuits were unsuccessful and instead he found fragments of coal at the base of the hill. Flagstaff Hill continued to be the home of coal exportation throughout the early 19th century, until the army claimed the land in 1843. Plans for a complete fort were not made until after 1870, when alarm of an attack by Russian began spreading throughout Newcastle due to the increased hostility between England and Russia. The fort was finally finished in 1882 the Russians were no longer a threat as the Japanese became the new enemy.

Beginnings

A battery of two 32 pounder SB cannons were placed upon Allans Hill in 1866, then two 68 pounders replaced the 32 pounders in 1874. On 1 April 1878, preparations began for the installation of a battery of four 80 pounder cannons upon Allans Hill and on 19 April it was completed.

Design

The fort was completed on 2 April 1882. It was designed by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Scratchley
Peter Scratchley
Sir Peter Henry Scratchley K.C.M.G. was special commissioner for Great Britain in New Guinea 1884-1885 and defence adviser for Australia....

, after whom the fort was named and included three 9-in Rifle Muzzle Loader (RML) guns
RML 9 inch 12 ton gun
The RML 9 inch guns Mark I - Mark VI were large rifled muzzle-loading guns used as primary armament on smaller British ironclad battleships and secondary armament on larger battleships, and also ashore for coast defence.-Design:...

 and a casemated battery of four 80 pounder cannons. In 1889 three BL 6 inch and one 8-in BL
BL 8 inch Mk I - VII naval gun
The BL 8 inch guns Mark I to Mark VII were the first generations of British breech-loaders of medium-heavy calibre. They were initially designed for gunpowder propellants and were of both 25.5 and 30 calibres lengths.-History:...

 disappearing gun
Disappearing gun
A disappearing gun is a type of heavy artillery for which the gun carriage enabled the gun to rotate backwards and down into a pit protected by a wall or a bunker after it was fired...

s were installed.

The 80 pounder cannons were replaced with quick-firing Nordenfelt machine guns in 1898. Two 6-in BL Mark VII guns
BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun
The BL 6 inch Gun Mark VII was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy traveling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British...

 replaced the four disappearing guns in 1911.

World War I

During World War I, the fort was upgraded with the provision of a Battery Observation Post constructed in 1914.

World War II

During World War II, the fort was further upgraded with the extension of the Battery Observation Post and provision of Searchlight Directing Station and blast walls were constructed in 1942. The two 6-in BL Mark VII guns
BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun
The BL 6 inch Gun Mark VII was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy traveling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British...

 fired at Japanese submarine I-21
Japanese submarine I-21
was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which saw service during World War II in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She displaced 1,950 tons and had a speed of . I-21 was the most successful Japanese submarine to operate in Australian waters, participating in the attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942 and sinking...

, which shelled the city on 8 June 1942.

Post World War II

After World War II the fort was home to 13 Medium Coast Battery RAA, a unit of the National Service Scheme, which was renamed 113 Coast Battery RAA in the 1960s. The army left the site on November 1972.

The 6-in BL Mark VII guns were relocated to King Edward Park, 1.3 km (0.807784557644749 mi) away, as a memorial. However, after extensive lobbying they were returned to Fort Scratchley in 1978.

In the first decade of the 21st century the site underwent a multi-million dollar renovation and reopened as a museum.

Cannon disposals

Two 68 pounder cannons are now located at Stroud, New South Wales
Stroud, New South Wales
Stroud is a small country town one hour north of Newcastle, New South Wales. It is part of the Great Lakes Council area. The major road through Stroud is the Bucketts Way...

. A 8-in disappearing gun was sent to North Head Artillery School for training purposes. A Signal cannon was relocated to Georges Heights
Georges Heights, New South Wales
Georges Heights is an urban locality in the suburb of Mosman, in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Georges Heights is located in the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman and is part of the Lower North Shore.-History:...

, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, and then was relocated to Puckapunyal
Puckapunyal
Puckapunyal is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Victoria, south-eastern Australia.-Description:Puckapunyal is a small restricted-access town inhabited mainly by about 280...

, Army Barracks in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

.
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