20 Attachment(s)
Oliver Hill 9.2" battery Rottnest Island (pic heavy)
Returned to Rottnest after a fair while so the family decided we would visit the Oliver Hill 9.2" battery which was built just prior to the outbreak of WWII.
Its purpose along with the 2 x 6" Bickley Hill battery's was to protect the approaches to Fremantle Harbour and the Gage Roads channel.
The gun could fire its projectiles 29 klm's with the CBD of Perth city being just 19 klm's away the 2 x 6" guns could only fire 17 Klm so would only have just gotten inland a small amount.
The gun was purchased from Britain from a cruiser the guide told us, is dated 1906 it never fired a shot in anger, fired half charges or used a sub caliber arrangement so as not to wear out the barrel.
It was quite an engineering feat as it is on top of a sand dune which they had to remove to build all the infrastructure to support the gun, magazine, shell room and power equipment as well as casualty clearance.
All they had was a very small gauge rail system and brute force the base bolts for the gun mount are 4 meters long the base is in 3 cast sections.
I have taken a few pics from my I-phone as our camera went south but came good later!! so bear with me on the quality.
As a note ~ There are only 5 of these intact and mounted 9.2" guns remaining in the world today so they along with the 6" barrels also on the island are very rare part of West Au's history.
After the war it was to be cut up for scrap but the RIA (Rottnest Island Authority) purchased the whole 9.2" gun battery for 1 pound from the army.
It then became Non-Military property so the Army could never claim it back, as for the 2 Bickley Battery 6" guns they were discovered buried in the sand dunes years later.
As at the time scrap iron prices were so low it was deemed to expensive to remove them plus they were to heavy so they turfed them and buried them.
Thankfully they were purchased as well and now remain on pedestals for tourists to look at another important part of our military's history.
At its height Rottnest was home to 2,400 service personnel that served the battery's and various posts throughout the island.
I will post pics of one of the 6" gun barrels later on as well as the BOP's (Battery Observation Posts) which were manned by the women plotters to guide the battery's.
Took those whilst doing an off road Segway tour.
Cheers
Pic 1 The battery in situ, 2) 9.2” projectile, 3) Charge canisters, 4) Recuperator, 5) Dummy charge bag, 6) 9.2” projectile minus driving band (copper was in short supply post WWII), 7) 9.2” projectile on loading tray pre ramming, 8) Ditto, 9) Rear of breech, 9-10) Oblique views, 11) Silk charge bag and dummy charge at bottom, 12) Gun breech with gun crew members circa WWII, 13) Projectiles the 9.2” fired, 14) Charge canister in the magazine room @ 40’ under main gun, 15) Sand cupboard sign WWII vintage on wall near magazine, 16 – 17) WWII emphera, 18) WWII sign near motor room, 19) Empty motor room the generators and motors were removed after the war to help power isolated areas in the state @ 60’ underground
