Fort Denison The Heart Of Sydney Harbor Analysis

Fort Denison, the Heart of sydney Harbour

What is the social, cultural and historical significance of your site?

Fort Denison has been a the heart of Sydney Harbour for over 150 years and in that time has had a significant varied social, cultural and historical past. It has been used as a fishing spot, defence structure, navigational guide, tide gage station, weather station, time marker and now a restaurant, events space and historic museum.

Fort Denison was once a small, rocky island referred to by the local aboriginal people as Mat-te-wan-ye also spelt Muttewai meaning rocky island. The island was originally a 15 metre sandstone rock, but during the 1800’s it was excavated to provide sandstone to build Circular Quay, at that time
the centre of shipping in Sydney.

After the first fleet arrived in 1788, Governor Phillip used the name Rock Island. In 1788, a convict named Thomas Hill was sentenced to a week on bread and water in irons there, after which the island came to be known ‘Pinchgut’. This became regular practice as punishment for serious breaches of the peace. By 1796, ‘Pinchgut’ had a gibbet, a post with a cross-beam from which convicts were hung. This was intended as a warning to newly transported convicts, who passed to island as they arrived by ship in the harbor.

In 1839 two American war ships entered the harbor at night and circled ‘Pinchgut’ island. Concerned with the threat of foreign attack the government reviewed the harbor’s inner defenses. George Barney, the civil engineer for New South Wales recommended that the government establish a fort on ‘Pinchgut’ island to help protect Sydney Harbor from attack by foreign vessels. Construction of the fort began during the Crimean War (1854-1856), when there were fears that the Russian Empire, which was at war with the British Empire, might use its formidable navy to attack Australia. Fortification began in 1841 and was completed on the 14th of November 1857. The newly built fort then took its current name from Sir William Thomas Denison, the Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861.

Fort Denison, which was designed by George Barney was constructed from 8000 tonnes of sandstone quarried near Kurraba Point in Neutral Bay, New South Wales. The fort had quarters for a garrison of 24 soldiers and one officer and was equipped with two 25cm guns and twelve 15kg cannons. The fortress features a distinctive Martello Tower, the only one ever built in Australia and the last one ever constructed in the British Empire.

In 1913 a light-house beacon built in Birmingham, England, and shipped to Sydney replaced the 20cm gun on the roof of the Martello Tower.
The light is called Fort Denison Light. In 2004, the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, which manages the site, restored the light-house beacon which is still in use. The fort is also equipped with a functioning foghorn and a tide gage room, that was established in the mid 1800’s both of which are still in use.

From 1906 a gun on Fort Denison was fired at 1pm each day so that ships in the harbor could accurately set their chronometers (a clock that is precise and accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard). Accurate time keeping is essential to east-west navigation, as longitude is linked to the time difference between a ships location and its home point. The practice of firing the 1pm cannon continued until the Second World War, when it was stopped due to fears that it might alarm Sydney residents. However, it recommenced in 1986 and continues today.

Fort Denison was never called upon to defend Sydney. In May 1942, three Japanese two man midget submarines during WWII attacked Sydney Harbor. When the cruiser USS Chicago, fired on the Japanese, some of its 130mm shells hit Fort Denison, causing the tower minor damage that one can still see today. The damage to the fort was an incident of what is termed friendly
fire.

Since 1992, the National Parks and Wildlife Service has spent around $2 million conserving and upgrading the facilities.
Increased harbor traffic combined with rising sea levels has already destroyed the slipway (a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water). Unfortunately, the porous sandstone takes in the salt right down to the forts foundations. In 2007, the government announced a $1.5 million rescue package.

Fort Denison is now a museum, tourist attraction and a popular location for wedding receptions and corporate events. The tourist facility contains an exhibition of the islands history from Aboriginal times. Access to Fort Denison for tourist is via a ferry that departs from Circular Quay. Guided tours of the island, including the Martello tour come at a cost. The bureau of meteorology operates a weather facility from the island and published observations at half hourly intervals on their website.

The evidence is overwhelming to support the historical significance of Fort Denison to Sydney and its harbor. Its diverse background and many uses since European settlement in 1788 are well documented and have helped to establish an important social and cultural past, which we can still observe
today.

Fort Denison was an obvious site study choice for me as from a very young age I knew of its significance learned from many a harbor cruise. I found its long and diverse history and appearance to be fascinating.

Bibliography

‘Fort Denison, The Heart of your Harbour – History of Fort Denison’ http://www.fortdenison.com.au/pages/history-of-fort-denison

‘Fort Denison on Sydney Harbor’ http://www.sydney.com.au/fort.au

‘Fort Denison Sydney’ http://www.inside-sydney-australia.com/fortdenison.html

History – A Day on Sydney Harbor’ http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/relearn/harbor.htm

Wikipedia, ‘Fort Denison’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Denison

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