Fort Denison - Sydney, NSW, Australia
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S 33° 51.292 E 151° 13.542
56H E 335859 N 6252519
Fort Denison is located north-east of the Royal Botanic Gardens and approximately 1 km east of the Opera House in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales.
Waymark Code: WMVE7A
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 04/07/2017
Views: 8
Fort Denison, part of Sydney Harbour National Park, is a protected national park that is a former penal site and defensive facility occupying a small island in Sydney Harbour. The island was formerly known as Pinchgut Island. In 1978 the former fortress was listed on the Register of the National Estate, and is now used as a national park, nature reserve, tourist facility, and as a function space.
The fortress features a distinctive Martello tower, the only one ever built in Australia and the last one ever constructed in the British Empire. It was constructed using 8,000 tonnes (7,900 long tons) of sandstone from nearby Kurraba Point, Neutral Bay. The tower's walls are between 3.3–6.7 metres (11–22 ft) thick at the base and 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in) thick at the top.
However, developments in artillery rendered the fort largely obsolete by the time it was completed. The tower itself had quarters for a garrison of 24 soldiers and one officer. Fort Denison's armament included three 8-inch (200 mm) muzzle loaders in the tower, two 10-inch (250 mm) guns, one on a 360-degree traverse on the top of the tower and one in a bastion at the other end of the island, and twelve 32-pound (15 kg) cannons in a battery between the base of the tower and the flanking bastion.
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