History:Â
The use of this location for defending the port harbour of Sydney, Nova Scotia, began in 1862. The site featured a battery of six 32-pounder guns in an earthwork emplacement as well as two stone magazines and a blockhouse. It was short-lived, however, as it was all but abandoned by 1865, and the stone from its construction was taken away to form the foundation of a church being constructed in Sydney Mines. Erosion destroyed much of the earthworks, and little else would be done here until the beginning of the first World War.
In 1914, two 4.7" field guns were installed in a new earthwork battery. These were removed in November, 1915. In October of 1916, one of them was put back again, but was relocated in May, 1917.
The second World War began and attention was once again brought to this little point of land. In 1940, two 4.7" MK7 quick-firing guns were put into place. In 1944, these were replaced by two 4-inch twin barreled MK16 guns. The four-story fire control and observation post was constructed and disguised as a church.
The site was deactivated in 1948.
Update November 13, 2018:
A tender was issued for restoration work to be done on this location. The proposal was to remove the graffitti, provide signs educating visitors of the site's history, and making the location safe for the public. Details are in the attached article below.
Personal Commentary:Â
Not far along the coast from the Stubberts Point Battery, we spotted the fire control tower of this location and worked through some of the streets to find the way close. It didn't take us long to find a place to park, and walk out to have a look around.
The stairs inside the fire control tower had been destroyed, so access to the upper levels was impossible. Graffiti was everywhere, yet did nothing to really detract from the feel of the place, and its commanding view of the busy waters it once guarded.
As we continued our exploration, we found a set of stairs leading underground. As we descended with our lights, we saw that it went deep; deeper than we had encountered at any previous such bunker. While warm outside, we felt the temperature drop dramatically as we passed a specific depth on the second stairwell downward. A significant amount of water barred further exploration, but it appeared not to go much further than we were able to see.
Having returned to the surface and the diminishing daylight of the setting sun, we examined the gun batteries and various shelters scattered around the site. Knowing there was still one more place we wanted to reach before nightfall, we moved along.
