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ARTILLERY REGISTER |
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| Type of Gun: |
RML 9 inch 12 Ton Mark V Gun on Carriage Iron Sliding Dwarf on Slide D Pivot |
| Location: |
Camp Cove, South Head, Sydney, NSW |
| GPS Location: |
33° 50’ 17.15” S -
151° 16’ 44.56” E |
| Serial Number: |
592 |
| Date of Manufacture: |
1872 |
| Manufacturer: |
Royal Gun Factory (RGF) |
| Calibre: |
9 inch |
| Weight of Projectile: |
249 lb |
| Range: |
3,000 yards |
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| Historical Specifics: |
In 1871 emplacements were prepared at Georges Heights and South Head and by 1874 two 9 inch 12 ton guns were emplaced at each site. They were replaced in 1889 by RML 80 pounder guns. By 1880 another two guns were in the Colony, both unmounted. Six of these guns are shown in the 1901 Report being located, two at Bare Island (Nos 591 and 596), one at the School of Gunnery Victoria Barracks (593) one at Outer South Head (592) and two at Fort Scratchley, Newcastle (594 and 595).
The gun at Camp Cove was originally located at Hornby Battery on the seaward side of South Head. Its present location has nothing to do with the original use of the gun but is in a good location for visitor access. It is mounted on an original carriage that is missing the hydraulic gear used to prevent the gun moving back too far on firing and returning it to the ‘start’ position. The whole is in good condition. |
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An interesting story about this gun occurred in 1975 when the Sydney Harbour National Park came into being. An area two chains (44 yards) back from the waters edge was declared as National Park to provide public access at the headlands and foreshore around Sydney harbour. The land at South head was under Commonwealth control being used by Defence. As the gun stood on the land to be handed over the Army planned to move it back from the shoreline. The equipment required to move the gun had been delayed and had not arrived by the day the official handover of land was to take place. Not to delay the ceremony it was decided to leave the gun and recover it following the ceremony. The day after the official handover a crane arrived and preparation was begun to lift the gun. At that moment the Park ranger arrived and asked what was going on. Being told it had been Army’s intention to move the gun before the handover and they were now here to do so the Ranger informed them that as the handover had been concluded everything on the land now belonged to National Parks. The matter was never raised again. |
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| General Information on Gun Type: |
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