Fort Scratchley

Fort Scratchley, a former coastal defence installation, is now a museum. It is located in Newcastle East, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales in Australia. It was built in 1882 to defend the city against a possible Russian attack. However, its guns were not fired in anger until 8 June 1942, during the shelling of Newcastle. The Australian Army left the site in 1972.

Fort Scratchley is situated atop Flagstaff Hill, overlooking the Tasman Sea and the Hunter River, less than 1 km (0.6 mi) from the Newcastle central business district. It is accessed from Nobbys Road, and is directly between Newcastle and Nobbys beaches. Originally built as a coastal defence fort, it is located in a commanding position, guarding the Hunter River estuary.

In 2004 the site was closed for renovation which the city hoped would make the fort a major tourist attraction. Unfortunately, as costs rose due to vandalism and an increase in necessary decontamination to the site, progress stalled. The Australian Government funded the project after reaching an agreement with Newcastle City Council in 2004, and decided to increase its funding from an estimated A$5.5 million to almost $10 million after reaching a second agreement in 2007. The government wanted to ensure that the site was repaired correctly as it sees it as a special place in Australia's military history. The site re-opened in June 2008; a museum on the site was operational by 2009.

Flagstaff Hill is where coal was discovered in the late 18th century. Lieutenant John Shortland had come upon the land while looking for rogue criminals, but his pursuits were unsuccessful and instead he found fragments of coal at the base of the hill. Flagstaff Hill continued to be the home of coal exportation throughout the early 19th century, until the army claimed the land in 1843. Plans for a complete fort were not made until after 1870, when the threat of an attack by Russia began spreading throughout Newcastle due to the increased hostility between England and Russia. The fort was finally finished in 1882, the Russians were no longer a threat, the Japanese had become the new enemy.

A battery of two 32 pounder SB cannons were placed upon Allans Hill in 1866, two 68 pounders replaced them in 1874. On 1 April 1878, preparations began for the installation of a battery of four 80 pounder guns upon Allans Hill, it was completed on 19 April.

Text adapted from “Fort Scratchley” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Fort Scratchley ranks #6,541 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #5 of the 14 mapped in Australia. Founded 1882, it is older than 5% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 607 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. See how Australia compares in the castle statistics.

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