By Vic Jeffery
This paper was first published in the West Coast Bulletin- August September, October 2001 edition.
Garden Island in Western Australia enjoys a rich military history and during World War Two was an Important link in the Army’s coastal gun batteries which protected the bustling Port of Fremantle.
BEACON BATTERY (2 x 4-inch guns) on the northern end “J” BATTERY (2 x 155mm guns) on the north western side, SCRIVEN BATTERY (2 x 9.2-inch guns) on the central western side and a single 12 pounder on the southern end were the main batteries. There were also several 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns also located on the island as part of the military installations which included searchlights, workshop, accommodation, battery observation posts, a plotting room, bores, concrete structures, a field hospital, and many other facilities.
One of the two 9.2-inch guns of the SCRIVEN BATTERY seen in combat storage in the 1950s when occasional tourists were the only people who disturbed the sound of the wind, the sea, and birdlife.
The largest, SCRIVEN BATTERY, was never proofed (fired). Comprising two 9.2-inch Mk XV guns, located 250 metres apart and 200 metres from the coastline was designed in the 1930s. Their arc of fire was from 179 to 346 degrees and they had a range of 32,000 metres and fired a 172 kg projectile.
This was the only fixed gun battery in Western Australia from that time that was not under construction when the War started, the main emphasis being on the 9.2-inch guns of the OLIVER HILL BATTERY on Rottnest Island (which survive today). The guns and equipment had not been received from Britain, British needs seeing the project relegated in order of priority. The Battery honoured an Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Scriven, who had been given the task of supervising the upgrading programme for coastal defences in the 1930s. Serving with the 8th Division, he was accidentally killed in Koepang, Timor whilst helping the Dutch boost their defence to defend Timor in the advent of a Japanese attack.
With materials having to come from the mainland a good deal of the available lighterage in the Fremantle area was absorbed. The pleasure Steamers SS EMERALD and tug SAMBO were employed towing water lighters and the JARRAHDALE and DRAGON towing the five general purpose lighters – AGNES, NIRIMBA, ENTERPRISE, GUILDFORD and MOLLY.
Underground
Each of the two gun emplacements had its own shell store, magazine, pump chamber and power house underground. A reserve magazine was constructed and later fitted with a false roof to allow better temperature control.
Battery plotting room table fire direction, which finally equipped the Battery, was developed from naval equipment and modified for coastal defence use.
There were three fortress observation posts on Garden Island; LOTUS – situated on Mount Lotus; GARDEN – situated on Mount Johnson; and ROYAL – situated on a 40 metre feature on the south end of the island.
In September 1944 the decision made to equip the Battery with two-15 searchlights and their associated equipment. The floor platforms fabricated in Melbourne and transport Fremantle aboard the SS KOORING January 1945.
With the threat of Japanese attack gone and the war over work on the battery; became slow before finally coming to a stop before they were placed in combat storage the exact date unknown after the war could have been as late as 1950.
The cocooned SCRIVEN BATTERY lay silently idle awaiting the call to duty, which
never came. Finally with the disbanding of the Coastal Artillery in 1962, the guns were sold for scrap and the underground generation generator and equipment sold.
The underground areas were filled with sand and today only the concrete
emplacements and rusting metal are reminders in this era in the history of Garden Island.
About the Author
Vic Jeffrey was the Royal Australian Navy’s senior public affairs officer for the Western Australia area from 1981 to 2004. A Lieutenant Commander in the RANR, he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 1997 Australia Day Honours List for services to the RAN.
He founded the WA Naval Museum at HMAS Stirling – Fleet Base West, and is a life member of the Naval Historical Society of Australia and the Navy League of Australia. Vic Jeffrey is also a member of the USNI and the Nautical History Foundation of Australia. A keen naval historian, he was a regular contributor to numerous naval and maritime publications and has coauthored or contributed to a number of naval books.
Further Reading
Vic Jeffrey, WW2 Bickley Naval Guns at Rottnest Island W.A., Naval Historical Society, December 1997 edition of the Naval Historical Review
Vic Jeffrey, Colonial Coastal Defence Guns from Kings Park, Perth, Naval Historical Society, December 2004 edition of the Naval Historical Review
City of Rockingham, Garden Island Batteries, published by the Heritage Council of WA