Fort Scratchley was the only military installation on the East Coast of Australia that actually fired guns in anger during WWII when a Japanese Submarine surfaced & shot shells at Newcastle. I guess they were after the Port installations or the Shipyards.
But we must travel back to 1882 when Fort Scratchley was opened after fears of Russian attacks. While the guns were installed then, the soldiers barracks and officers residents were built in 1886. I wonder where they were before then & how long it would have taken them to get to the guns if the Russians had actually attacked. Lucky they didn’t eh? lol!
But seriously, I want to get back here & have an indepth look through this historic part of Newcastle.
This maritime and military museum is set in a historic 19th-century fort.
Originally, the site was used to house Newcastle’s first Lighthouse, with the Fort only being built after the lighthouse was moved to Nobbys, and the military base chose to build there. The first guns, 80 pounders, were installed in 1882, and a Battery of the Volunteer Artillery were trained to use them.
It wasn’t until 1942 that the Fort saw any action, when a Japanese Submarine fired on Newcastle during World War II. Equipped at this stage with 9.2-inch guns with a range of 17 miles, it took the firing of two salvos from Fort Scratchley to persuade the submarine to break off the engagement. It is estimated that the submarine fired 24 rounds on Newcastle, on the night of June 7th, 1942.
Today Fort Scratchley is a Maritime and Military Museum.
The Maritime Museum is open from 12-4p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.
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