Fort Queenscliff
Fort Queenscliff is a superb example of the defences that existed around the coastline of Australia from colonial times through to the end of the Second World War. Considerable restoration includes the recovery and refurbishment of some of the original guns, the restoration of historic buildings, and the development of a comprehensive indoor display and archival centre. A museum was established at Fort Queenscliff in 1982. The ultimate objective of the Fort Queenscliff Museum is a fully restored Fort and the development of a museum which will allow visitors to tour the Fort and inspect a multitude of indoor and outdoor displays.
Today visitors are encouraged to look upon Fort Queenscliff as a part of the national heritage which belongs to all Australians. Accordingly, the FortQueenscliff Museum has sought to create an environment that evokes public interest and reminds visitors of our early military history.
Tour times: 1.00pm & 3.00pm Sat, Sun, School & Public Holidays. Additional tour at 11.00am during September and December/January school holidays. Group tours available any time upon request.
Location: Fort Queenscliff, King Street, Queenscliff, Victoria. Ph 903) 5258 1488
Contact: (03) 5258 2069. Website >>
Fort Queenscliff Museum which opened in 1982, is part of the Army Museums Network under the aegis of the Army History Unit. Public access is restricted to one hour guided tours, of the Fort's Museum, its restored buildings, ramparts, guns, arms stores and gardens. Tours are held at 1pm and 3pm on weekends and public holidays and daily at 11am and 1pm and 3pm during school holidays (September and December to January), and at other times for schools and groups. The Fort is still used by the military, now housing the Australian Army's Soldier Career Management Agency.
One of the famous Disappearing Guns is on display at the Fort. It could shoot a 100kg round 8,000m. After it had fired the gun would vanish as its recoil took it underground on its moorings.
Fort Queenscliff dates from 1860 when an open battery was constructed on Shortland's Bluff to defend the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. The Fort, which underwent major redevelopment in the late 1870s and 1880s, became the headquarters for an extensive chain of forts around Port Phillip Heads. Its garrison included volunteer artillery, engineers, infantry and naval militia, and it was manned as a coastal defence installation continuously from 1883 to 1946. The other fortifications and armaments around the Heads were completed by 1891, and together made Port Phillip one of the most heavily defended harbours in the British Empire.
The fort gave adequate cover to the channels at the entrance of Port Phillip: enemy ships attempting to enter the bay would be under fire of 15 minutes. During World war 2, two guns were moved from the Fort to Point Lonsdale and in 1947 the Fort became the Australian Staff College and is now the Australian Command and Staff College.
The Fort ceased to be a coast defence installation by 1946 when it became the home of the Army's Staff College until the single service staff colleges were combined in Canberra in 2000. Since that time it has been the location of the Army's Soldier Career Management Agency.
It is claimed that the first British Empire artillery shots of World War I were fired when a gun at Fort Nepean fired across the bow of the German freighter Pfalz, as she was attempting to escape to sea. The orders to fire came from Fort Queenscliff. It is alleged that the same gun, with a different barrel, also fired the first Australian artillery shot of World War II. By 1946 coastal artillery was outmoded, and the Fort became home of Army's Staff College. After the three Service Staff Colleges were combined in Canberra, it became the base for Army's Soldier Career Management Agency in 2001.
Fort Queenscliff is located in the Borough of Queenscliffe, some 106 km from Melbourne, on the western side of the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. It occupies an area of 6.7 hectares on high ground known as Shortland's Bluff and overlooks the shipping lanes leading to Melbourne and Geelong. The Fort is a superb example of the defences that existed around the coastline of Australia from colonial times through to the end of the Second World War. Considerable restoration has been accomplished at Fort Queenscliff in recent years, including the recovery and refurbishment of some of the original guns, the restoration of historic buildings, and the development of a comprehensive indoor display and archival centre. Fort Queenscliff has been classified by the National Trust and entered in the Register of the National Estate.
Fort Queenscliff formed part of the defence of Port Phillip Bay during WW2. From about 1936, Fort Queenscliff was the main recruit training centre for the Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) for Australia. It was also the Headquarters for the defence batteries located at Crow's Nest, Franklin, Lonsdale, Nepean, Pearce, and Queenscliff. There were two operational Electric Lights (ELs) and two engines located at Fort Queenscliff. EL 5 was the fighting light for B1 Battery when used in Port Phillip Bay and EL6 was the fighting light for B2 battery. EL6 not able to cover The Rip area.
A1 Battery at Fort Queenscliff used an Electric Light (EL3) at Crow's Nest to light its targets. In addition to EL5 at Queenscliff, B1 Battery at Fort Queenscliff, used EL4 at Crow's Nest to illuminate its target area. The Gardner No. 9 kerosene engines at Fort Queenscliff were built in 1909 and would take about 30 minutes to start. They were unable to supply the required full output to the newer lights that had been installed. Spare parts for the engines were not readily available. So things were not looking too bright.
EL5 and EL6 Emplacements were hewn out of the cliff face about 12 feet above high water mark. They were only accessible via a vertical shaft from the engine room which had a vertical ladder in it. From this lead a a timber lined tunnel to EL6 with a branch off this tunnel to EL5. As there was no alternative escape route from EL5 and EL6, individual female personnel were not permitted in these emplacements. EL3 and EL4 Emplacements were 9 ft 6 ins wide concrete emplacements with square fronts complete with 1/4 inch armour plate glass panels. The panels had to be lifted clear for fighting. While the panels did not reduce the light strength they did result in unwanted stray reflected beams.
On the second day of WW2 one of the guns at Fort Queenscliff fired a warning shot across the bow of a Bass Strait freighter. On another occasions one of the anti-aircraft guns at Fort Queenscliff fired at an unidentified aircraft that flew near the Fort in May 1940.
