Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia 17/11/08 9:09 AM

fremantlebiz Log out You are viewing your journal Explore LJ: Life Entertainment Music Culture News & Politics Technology
Home Post Friends Page View Recent Comments Manage Entries Invite Friends Search... Interest Go

Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia

[Most Recent Entries] [Calendar View] [Friends View]

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Time Event
7:58aRottnest Island - the WW2 artillery installations and my dad
One of the things that all modern visitors quickly learn about Rottnest is that it was the first line of WW2 defence for the
nearby port of Fremantle. There were two heavy-artillery batteries on the island, a pair of 6 inch guns at Bickley Point in
the south east corner of the island and a pair of 9.2 inch guns at Oliver Hill in the centre.

Probably most tourists visit the refurbished 'Number one' gun on Oliver Hill, and if they are wiling to pay, take a guided
tour of the substantial underground infrastructure connected with it.

There is a 'Number 2' gun which is unrestored and not so popularised. My father was a RAA sergeant involved with the
installation of both these guns in 1937. He was very experienced artilleryman, having spent most of WW1 overseas in
France, including at the second Battle of the Somme. Here's a picture of him taken in 1915:

He was demobbed in 1919, but signed up again in 1921 and stayed with the Australian Army until 1950, when he retired as
a WOII. In all he notched up 8 years and 278 days active service for Australia in two wars and served under the Artillery
banner for a total of 33 years, 48 days.

There were many people who contributed to the effort of turning Rottnest into a fortress during preparation for WW2, so
it's understandable his name doesn't appear in the historical displays. The enthusiasts who arranged the exhibitions tended
to focus on the mechanical items and more momentous events of war.

However there is a photo of may father amongst the displays. He's sitting with a group of colleagues on the barrel of one
of the 9.2 inch guns. None of the men were named, however Dad was the fifth from the left. He's the bloke with the clean
overalls. Apparently the picture was taken about 1937 when the installation was completed.

http://fremantlebiz.livejournal.com/2008/11/17/ Page 1 of 3
Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia 17/11/08 9:09 AM

Dad was too experienced to spend the entire war with these guns. The Army found plenty of other interesting fish for him
to fry.

My wife and I wandered about the unrestored site of the Number 2 gun during our recent October visit to Rottnest. I
wished my father could have been with us to show us around. He would have known plenty, but he would have had to be
111 years old now. Below are a couple of groups of photos I took. They can be clicked up to a larger size:

Going clockwise, the first pic is on my wife and some of our children. Then there is the Number 2 gun with the central
Rottnest lighthouse in the background. Below is a picture of a specialised tool-board for the gun. In the bottom left is a pic
of some of the turret workings beneath the weapon. The defence installation could dispatch a 380 lb shell to a target 28.5
kilometres away, but was never fired in hostility. This was state-of-the-art coastal weaponry in 1937, reportedly with
barrels reconditioned after overseas service in WW1.

Going clockwise in the above group, the first picture is of the area behind the Number 2 gun. The structure on the left
hosted the tool room. The second picture shows the rusted remnants of steel matting which was laid on sandy areas to
improve walking access. The guns were laid on sand dunes. Beneath this picture is some remnant railway line which was
used to bring in everything required for constructing the Oliver Hill Complex. The line ran from a military jetty at the
southern end of Thompson Bay. In the bottom left is another picture of the railway on the final approach to the guns
through 'Hell's Gully.' WW1 veterans like my father would have understood the inference. The big guns were heavily
defended by ground troops, and there are many remnant sentry outposts and barbed wire entanglements still visible on
surrounding slopes. I'll possibly show some of those tomorrow.

© MMVIII Paul R. Weaver.

Click here to visit 'dogandcatwatcher', my YouTube website.

Original still photographs are stored online in a cache at my Panoramio website or my Picasa site. Most of them have
a brief description and a link back to a relevant essay. Images on Panoramio can usually be enlarged several times by
clicking them.

About the writer

Click here to see our backyard.

http://fremantlebiz.livejournal.com/2008/11/17/ Page 2 of 3
Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia 17/11/08 9:09 AM

Check out each month's subject index on the Calendar Page for my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st
century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days as part of an undertaking to
write at least couple of million words. Zzzzzzzz!

(Comment on this)

2008/11/17
<< Previous Day
[Calendar]

About LiveJournal.com

http://fremantlebiz.livejournal.com/2008/11/17/ Page 3 of 3