Harbour Trust: The
Sites
North Head Sanctuary: About the Site
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Location Map
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The former School of Artillery is located on North Head, Manly. |
Access and Visitor Centre
 Aerial
view of the former School of Artillery The former School of Artillery at North Head is open to the public everyday
during daylight hours (except Christmas Day and Good Friday). The Gatehouse
Visitors Centre is open everyday from 10am-4pm.
Visit the brand-new Gatehouse Visitor Centre to see the exhibition about
North Head Sanctuary on the site of the former School of Artillery.
Pick up a brochure
for a self-guided tour of North Head along the Gunners’ Walk
which highlights protected heathland, diverse birdlife, military remnants
and stunning views of the city, harbour and ocean.
Bring the kids and stop by the Discovery Room to make a flannel flower,
construct a bandicoot mask or create a discovery map of the area. (All
children must be supervised by an adult).
Guided Tours
The Harbour Trust operates guided historical tours of the site - as well
as nearby North Fort - on the second Sunday of every month.
Click here to find out more about these tours.
Leasing Opportunities
Once the management plan is adopted for the former School of Artillery,
the Harbour Trust will be undertaking expressions of interest for the
leasing of buildings and facilities.
Click here to find out more about the leasing
process and what other opportunities exist on Harbour Trust sites.
Natural Features of the Area
North Head is a 385 hectare sandstone headland
only 11 kms from Sydney.
The cliffs of North Head that now rise up to 90 metres above the sea
were pushed upwards with the rifting of the Tasman Sea and the uplift
of Hornsby Plateau, 90 million years ago (Late Cretaceous era).
The giant stone promontory of North Head is connected to the mainland
by a sand spit, which has become the town of Manly. The massive landform
was created from warped, weathered and uplifted layers of sedimentary
rock, the plateau of which has been covered by sand dunes.
 The
sea cliffs of North Head Wetlands have been created by drainage of water through the sand meeting
the sandstone.
Percolated drainage through the layers of sandstone has created springs
at lower levels.
The island-like isolation and remoteness of North Head has given rise
to a delicate and precious system of flora and fauna.
This unique habitat supports rare and endangered species such as the
endangered Long-nosed Bandicoot, Brushtail and Ringtail possums, water
rats, echidnas and reptiles. The headland also plays host to approximately
90 species of birds and over 140 native plants.
The slopes vary from open scrub to woodland and open forest in sheltered
sites with local variations due to exposure to salt spray, shallow soils
and exposed rock surfaces. Eucalyptus camfieldii and the Sunshine
Wattle are two rare species to be found here.
The waters extending between Spring Cove and the Quarantine Station
contain amongst the last remaining significant sea grass beds in Sydney
Harbour
and a colony of little penguins nests on adjoining land.
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History of the Site
Pre-1788: Indigenous Culture
North Head was used by the Camaraigal Aborigines (this is the
origin of the suburb name Cammeray).
The site was used for special occasions including burial and medicinal
practices, exchange of goods and knowledge and ceremonial battles.
Rock engravings, rock art, burial areas, middens (mounds consisting of
shells and other refuse, marking the site of habitation) and artefacts
remain on the headland but cannot be accessed due to their sensitive nature.
 1788-1820:
The Experiences of early European Contact
Governor Phillip decided he needed an interpreter to understand and
communicate with the saltwater people.
In 1788 he captured Arabanoo, who then died of smallpox. Undeterred Governor
Phillip tried again, this time capturing Colbee and Bennelong in 1789.
Colbee escaped within 2 weeks. Bennelong tried to escape but was caught
and became the main informant of Aboriginal culture for Philip and eventually
went with him to England.
The following year in 1790 Bennelong invited Governor Phillip to a feast
of whale meat at Manly Cove with the Camaraigal people. It was
however, a ruse to assassinate the Governor. In fact a koradgee, or medicine
man, from further north was brought down specifically for the task. Governor
Phillip was speared in the shoulder but he recovered.
1820s-1910s: A Place of Quarantine
From the 1820s the site was used for the quarantining of infectious
ship’s
passengers.
In 1833 Governor Bourke declared land within a quarter mile of Spring
Cove a quarantine area and in 1837 permanent buildings were established.
New buildings were added to the Quarantine Station in the 1880s and a
third cemetery built, coinciding with a smallpox epidemic.
The area remained isolated until 1859 with a grant of 60 acres to the
Catholic Church. The Archbishop’s Palace was built in 1886 and St.
Patrick’s Seminary in 1889. High stone walls were constructed to
separate church land from the Quarantine Station.
With the growth of Manly as a residential and recreational area, there
was increasing demand from locals for access to North Head. In 1886 part
of the Catholic Church’s land was rescinded to allow for public
access to Shelley Beach.
The spread of smallpox by one ship from Albany to Adelaide, Melbourne
and Sydney in 1887 hastened awareness that quarantine required a national
approach. It became one of the areas of Commonwealth responsibility at
Federation. In 1901 additional pavilions were erected to house victims
of the Bubonic plague and in 1902 to accommodate ‘Asiatics’.
The NSW Government established a hospital on 12 acres in 1917.
1920s-1930s: Growing Recreation and Residential Demands
In 1927 the Prince of Wales opened part of the Quarantine Reserve for
public recreation and a cobblestone ‘Avenue of Honour’ was
opened in 1928 along the eastern side of the headland. It was lined with
Norfolk Island pines, planted by Manly Council, of which only remnants
remain.
The Council was granted permissive occupancy over 300 acres for public
use in 1929 and this was formally opened as Parkhill Reserve in 1933
with its stone entry arch and scenic road. A stone wall was built as
an Unemployment Relief Scheme to separate the reserve from the quarantine
area.
Artillery Shells at North Head
Photo courtesy: North Fort 1930s-1950s: Fortification of the Headland
In 1934 the Federal Government withdrew most of the permissive occupancy
in order to fortify the headland.
Between 1935-1936 the North Fort and Bluefish facilities were constructed
including two 9.2 inch guns, an underground plotting room and observation
posts. In 1936 113 acres were returned to the Council for public use with
the remainder reserved for coastal defence.
The barracks complex for the 1st Australian Coast Artillery Brigade
was completed in 1938.
During the war radar was installed at Bluefish Point (1942). Huts
were erected as barracks to house the additional personnel needed
to man
the North Head complex.
By 1945 a complete wind down had commenced.
1950s-1990s: An Artillery School amidst a National Park
The Coast Artillery Brigade Headquarters became the School of
Artillery in 1953 as coastal artillery was confirmed as obsolete
and the
guns and equipment removed.
The North Head Sydney Harbour National Park Reserve was established
in 1979 with the Fraser-Wran agreement and the NSW National
Parks and Wildlife
Service acquired the now redundant Quarantine Station in
1984.
In 1990 a national artillery museum was set up in the North Fort area
and a monument to the history of artillery and the gunners was erected
in 1995. They remain as a reminder of the defence use of the site after
the relocation of the School of Artillery to Puckapunyal in 1998.
2001-Today
The site was handed over to the management of the Sydney Harbour Federation
Trust.
The former School of Artillery is bordered by Sydney Harbour National
Park, Sydney Water's North Head Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Quarantine
Station.
The site is centrally located on the plateau of the headland, sitting
within dunes amid natural coastal scrub. It contains:
- a complex of mess halls, teaching areas and accommodation
-
a grand parade ground
- training structures, sheds and hardstand
- suburban dwellings
- Royal Australian Artillery National Museum
- remnant installations for coastal guns
- gymnasium, oval and tennis courts
- commemorative entry drive
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