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Borogegal Country
On Borogegal Country, the headland has long been a place to look across land, sea and sky, observe the harbour, signal across the water and read the seasons. Nearby shelters, middens and art sites point to deep and continuing connections to this place and its resources.
In 1788, Borogegal people witnessed the arrival of the First Fleet and soon after encountered parties exploring the harbour. Captain John Hunter and Lieutenant William Bradley approached Middle Head by boat, likely near Cobblers Beach. Bradley recorded local people signalling safer landing places: ‘These people mixed with ours and all hands danced together’.
Middle Head was also where Governor Lachlan Macquarie established a farm for 16 First Nations families, including Bungaree and likely his wife, Cora Gooseberry – both significant figures in Australian history. Cora had strong harbour connections and later shared knowledge of Country with colonial visitors, guiding them to rock engraving sites on the harbour headlands.
The headland is valued for its harbour outlooks and coastal sandstone landscape. Remnant bushland, seasonal flowers, birdlife, pollinators and coastal winds shape its character. Its natural heritage also connects to early botanical study, including Robert Brown’s work in the early 1800s.
A strategic harbour headland
Middle Head’s position made it an important military landscape. The first defence works in the area were established between 1801 and 1803. From the 1870s to the early 1900s, gun batteries, defensive ditches, tunnels, roads, barracks and buildings were constructed. Heavy guns and materials were hauled along Military Road and Cobblers Beach Road as Middle Head became part of Sydney’s outer harbour defence system.
It was also a place of military training and public demonstration. In 1885, the NSW School of Gunnery was established at Middle Head to train soldiers in coastal defence. From the late 1800s to early 1900s, Easter Encampments brought thousands of volunteer and permanent troops from across New South Wales to Middle Head for large-scale training exercises. Rows of tents, drills, parades and demonstrations transformed the headland into a temporary military town that drew large crowds of public spectators.
Camps, war and public access
During the First World War, Middle Head was a key mobilisation site. Temporary timber huts housed artillery and engineer units before wartime service, with many personnel later deployed to Gallipoli. Middle Head was also the site of a Defaulters’ Camp associated with Australia’s Universal Training Scheme – compulsory military training for Australian men aged 12 to 26. Defaulters were required to sleep in tents and undertake training under guard.
In 1924, part of the headland was leased to Mosman Golf Club. The 9-hole course prompted protest over access, tree clearing and the private use of public land.
A Second World War hub
The Second World War brought renewed military activity, and Middle Head became a hub for coastal surveillance, engineer training, artillery activity and communications. The golf club site was reclaimed for military use in 1939. Two years later, brick buildings were constructed for the Anti-Aircraft and Fortress Engineering School. Nearby workshops supported vehicle maintenance and the storage of coastal searchlights, while timber huts housed the Army Signals Camp. Women played an important role in wartime operations at Middle Head, particularly in communications and signals work. HMAS Penguin was established on the former Mosman Golf Course and remains an active naval presence on the headland.
ASOPA, intelligence and 10 Terminal
After the war, former military buildings supported new training and education uses, including the Australian School of Pacific Administration. During the Cold War period, timber barracks, the oval, workshops and training areas also supported Defence personnel. The 1st Field Regiment is remembered for developments in artillery training during this period, while the School of Military Intelligence ran specialist courses, including the Code of Conduct course, which focused on resistance to enemy interrogation.
Later, 10 Terminal Regiment’s transport and logistics work connected Middle Head to Cobblers Beach, Chowder Bay and beyond. Its departure in 1997 marked the end of almost 200 years of military presence on the headland.
Middle Head today
The Headland Preservation Group was formed in 1996 to campaign against private residential development across Georges Heights, Middle Head and Chowder Bay. This community advocacy helped protect former Defence lands around Sydney Harbour for public use and contributed to the establishment of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust in 2001.
Today, visitors come to Middle Head to walk, play sport, work, spend time in nature, socialise, connect, learn and reflect. Located only minutes from Mosman Village, Middle Head is a place to explore spectacular harbour views, coastal bushland and scrub that provide habitat for species such as water dragons and ring-tailed possums, connect with First Nations history and explore the landscapes, buildings and infrastructure once used in the defence of Sydney.
