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The Traditional Owners of this area are the Borogegal people. It served social and ceremonial purposes and the foreshore provided shelter, food and water.
Sydney's defence strategy
As well as being a place of significance for Sydney's First nations peoples, Georges Heights is also notable, historially, for being a site for military operations. In 1870, the British Government withdrew its troops from the Australian colonies. The colonies became responsible for their own defence strategy, and the NSW government responded with an “outer line” of defence on Sydney Harbour.
This “outer line” of defence consisted of stations where soldiers could take aim at enemy ships as they entered the harbour. There were a series of these batteries on the outer reaches of the harbour, and, in 1871, construction began on the Georges Head Battery, which consisted of six circular gun pits and associated zig-zag passages and tunnels that led to underground shot magazines.
Post-war military presence
In 1916, the third largest military hospital in Australia was built at Georges Heights (Hospital on the Hill) to accommodate the increasing number of First World War casualties returning from the trenches of the Western Front. The hospital operated until 1921, and many of the timber-framed buildings are still intact today. An exhibition in Building 21 (Ward I) commemorates the medical staff and soldiers who worked and recuperated at the Hospital on the Hill.
When Australia was drawn into the Second World War, there was another surge of military activity. A submarine net was erected across the harbour between Georges Head and Green Point in 1942, and quick firing guns were set up at Obelisk Point and Georges Head. However, in 1942, Japanese midget submarines penetrated the incomplete defences at Georges Head and raided allied ships that were moored in the harbour.
In the wake of the Second World War, military activity at Georges Heights did not ebb; rather, it would continue to serve as a defence hub for a further five decades. Notable residents during this period included the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps, which operated a training centre at Georges Heights from the 1950s until 1984.
Georges Heights today
In 1996, as Defence was planning to vacate Georges Heights, Middle Head and Chowder Bay, the Headland Preservation Group was formed to campaign against private residential development of this land. This campaign was successful and led to the establishment of the Harbour Trust in 2001.
The involvement of the Harbour Trust in the restoration, conservation and interpretation of existing buildings has paved the way for Georges Heights to become a thriving community of artists, local businesses, bushwalks and cafés.
Georges Heights is easily accessible via Middle Head Road. Visitors can enjoy scenic coastal walks with breathtaking harbour views and are invited to learn about the layered history of the area.