I've gone to Middle Head every time I've been to Sydney. One of my favorite little beaches, Obelisk, is there. What I hadn't done was to continue past the beach to the tip of Middle Head, where an old military installation is lying in ruins.
The battery on Middle Head was built in 1871. The fort was built on a strategic location and received many additions until 1911. It formed part of a network of 'outer harbour' defenses. They were designed to fire at enemy ships as they attempted entry through the Sydney Heads. The whole area is linked by an extensive network of underground tunnels, ancillary rooms, gunpowder magazine and a disappearing gun emplacement. The site has its own underground power room that is supported by iron columns. Rooms located below ground were used to train some of Australia's first troops who were sent to Vietnam in 'Code of Conduct' courses, which were lessons in how to withstand torture and interrogation, by simulating prisoner of war conditions.
Most of the underground labyrinth of tunnels were carved into the sandstone by prisoners. The complex is huge, though not much is above ground. There is even a moat surrounding the complex, which wasn't actually in use for very long as modern machines and warfare rather quickly made it obsolete.
On my way back to the beach, where of couse I was going, I came across a Kookaburra, definitely one of the cutest Aussie birds.
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| Middle Head view |
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| The defense fortifications |
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| Tunnels |
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| Graffiti I liked! |
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| Obelisk Bay |
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| Wandering the tunnels |
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| The sandstone walls |
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| The Moat |
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| The Kookaburra! |
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