Coastal fortifications were constructed in New Zealand in two main waves: around 1885 as a response to fears of an attack by Russia, and in World War II due to fears of invasion by the Japanese.
The fortifications were built from British designs adapted to New Zealand conditions. They typically included gun emplacements, pill boxes, fire control or observation posts, camouflage strategies, underground bunkers, sometimes with interconnected tunnels, containing magazines, supply and plotting rooms and protected engine rooms supplying power to the gun turrets and searchlights. There were also kitchens, barracks, and officer and NCO quarters.[1]
The "Russian-scare" forts of 1885
In the 1870s New Zealand was a young self-governing colony of Britain. It had developed no coastal defences of any consequence and was becoming increasingly sensitive to how vulnerable its harbours were to attack by a hostile power or opportunistic raider. Fears of invasion by the expanding Russian Empire were common, especially due to the founding of Russia's Pacific port at Vladivostok.[2]
Fears intensified after a hoax article was run in the Daily Southern Cross on 18 February 1873.[2] The article proclaimed that war had been declared between England and Russia,[3] and that a fictional Russian naval cruiser, the Kaskowiski, had attacked Auckland.[2][4]
[The Kaskowiski] – whose very name should have made sober readers suspicious – had allegedly entered Auckland Harbour on the previous Saturday night and proceeded to capture a British ship, along with the city's arms and ammunition supply, and hold a number of leading citizens for ransom. The 954-man Russian vessel obviously meant business, with a dozen 30-ton guns as well as a remarkably new advance in warfare, a paralysing and deadly "water-gas" that could be injected into enemy ships from a great distance.[3]
The Southern Cross article created panic and the Government commissioned its first reports on the colony's defences. It was now clearly understood that Britain would protect its territories and vital shipping routes, but the defence of individual ports was the responsibility of each self-governing colony. Then Russia declared war on Turkey in 1877 producing another "scare".
In 1885 the New Zealand Government bought ten Armstrong BL 8-inch and thirteen Armstrong BL 6-inch guns on disappearing carriages. The disappearing gun was the very latest in military technology in the 1880s. It was "disappearing" because as it fired, the recoil pushed the gun back underground where it could be reloaded under cover. The total costs of this artillery plus the costs of installation including land, emplacements, magazines and barracks was about £160,000.[5]
Following the "second Russian scare" a number of additional RML 7-inch and 64-pdr guns were also installed[6]
On Ripapa Island on the south side of Lyttelton Harbour.[22] Fort Jervois is an internationally rare 1880s “Russian Invasion Scare” structure, which has retained a high level of authenticity of both structure and hardware (6” and 8” disappearing guns). It is one of only five examples of this type of fortification in the world. The Island has been managed by the Department of Conservation since 1990.[23]
Otago Harbour. This Armstrong Disappearing Gun was installed in May 1889 and was recommissioned during World War II. It is the only one of its kind working and is still in its original gun pit.[25][26]
World War II coastal fortifications
Tunnel layout for a three gun emplacement system.
The second main wave of building coastal fortifications occurred during World War II. This was mainly a response to a perceived threat of invasion by the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor. From 1942 until 1944, when the threat receded, 42 coastal artillery fortifications or land batteries were either developed using historical fortifications or were built from scratch. The fortifications were built from British designs adapted to New Zealand conditions. Radar was installed which allowed long range shooting at night and replaced the traditional fortress system of range finding.[1]
The fortifications were equipped with both old and new ordnance, mostly British. Some World War I ordnance was requisitioned from museums and recommissioned.[citation needed]
The fortifications were administered by the Royal New Zealand Artillery, which grouped them into four areas. Each area was under the command of a heavy artillery regiment. Within each regiment the fortifications were grouped into batteries.[citation needed]
Also used (highlighted below in yellow) were seven of the now historic Russian scare fortifications
Part of Auckland's coastal defence system from the Russian scare in 1885 to World War I. By World War II, with ships' guns able to fire long distances, the old fort was too close to the city it was meant to defend. New batteries were built at Motutapu, Castor Bay, Whangaparaoa and Waiheke Island and North Head became the centre of administration.[31] A complex of tunnels, guns, searchlights and other fortifications remain and it is now a historic reserve managed by the Department of Conservation.[7][8]
Located in Mission Bay. The fortifications were buried in the 1940s when the Michael Joseph Savage memorial was built, and effectively forgotten. The underlying tunnels were later rediscovered.
Built by American Forces [unknown unit] at the end of Harvey Road, Manukau Heads, approximately 100 m north of lighthouse site, this open fronted fortification had one gun, and an observation post inland. Accommodation was at the end of Harvey Road, with only concrete pads remaining for some buildings. Due to the erosive nature of these compacted sandhills the gun emplacement was undermined and slipped down the cliffs in the early 1980s. According to local residents, the gun was only fired 6 times, cracking the concrete abutments.
During World War II (1941) the Motuihe buildings became HMNZS Tamaki naval base, a training establishment. Now in the care of the Department of Conservation.[33][34][35]
Also known as HMNZS Tamaki, and Narrow Neck. In 1963 the RNZN moved its New Entry Training School HMNZS Tamaki from Motuihe Island to the fort. The navy built a new Gunnery School and set up an Officer Training School. Previously officers had been sent overseas for training. Only the Officer and Trade Training schools remain. Has been under the care of the Department of Conservation since 2000.[10][11][12][13]
Entrance to Whangarei harbour. Remaining structures are the (Colchester) gun shelter, engine room, and observation post. The most significant feature is the spotting mural with compass bearings painted above the slit window in the observation post.[41][42]
At the entrance to the Wellington Harbour. The abandoned gun pits were blown up in the late 1960s. The only remains are the underground plotting rooms, which are closed for safety reasons.[44]
By Mount Crawford, Karaka Bays, Wellington's primary fort until 1911 when Fort Dorset opened, Fort Ballance was closed in 1945 but remnants remain.[15]
On a high headland above Mākara, on Wellington's west coast, protecting Cook Strait.[47][48][49] The fort was built in 1941, and comprised two covered 6" gun emplacements, a battery operations post, and an observation post and a radar post, with a large barracks several hundred metres inland.
This British-designed fortress was similar to the 9.2inch fortresses built at Whangaparaoa and Stoney Batter. 2,030 feet (620 metres) of interconnecting tunnels were dug. Two 185hp diesel generators provided power to manoeuvre the guns. Each gun weighed 135 tons and could fire a 380-pound (172kg) shell across Cook Strait or up to Plimmerton. The fortress was used for training purposes up to the mid-1950s. In early 1960 the guns were sold for scrap, ironically, to the Japanese. The Wrights Hill Fortress Restoration Society is restoring the coastal battery to its former state.[50][51]
At the northern entrance to Lyttelton Harbour, the last NZA to be decommissioned. It last fired a gun in 1959. In its heyday in World War II, it was staffed by over 400 men and women and was a self-contained community. It is ranked in the top ten New Zealand coastal defence heritage sites.[57] It is now under the care of the Department of Conservation and the Godley Head Heritage Trust.[58][59]
On Ripapa Island on the southern side of Lyttelton Harbour.[22] It is an internationally rare 1880s “Russian Invasion Scare” military defence structure, which has retained a high level of authenticity of both structure and hardware (6” and 8” disappearing guns). It is one of only five examples of this type of fortification in the world. The island has been managed by the Department of Conservation since 1990.[23]
Guarding the northern entrance to Queen Charlotte Sound, the guns are positioned separately on the two northern points of Blumine Island. Associated with each emplacement are a magazine, observation post and accommodation camp.[62][63]
At Greymouth. Establishment: 2 Officers, 1 WO, 3 Sergeants and 26 ORs. Grey District Council destroyed part of this site, without consultation, in 2007 to make way for a sewer line.[68]
Armstrong disappearing gun at Taiaroa HeadClose to Taiaroa Head at the northeastern tip of Otago Peninsula. Restored, and open to the public. Includes what is believed to be the only 1889 Armstrong Disappearing gun remaining in working condition in its original gun pit.[70]
The advent of air warfare and missiles made these forts redundant and most were decommissioned by the 1950s. Godley Head continued because of compulsory military training and last fired a gun in 1959. The Department of Conservation has the remains of around 30 installations on land it manages.[57]
Postscript
None of the forts fired a gun in anger, though in October 1939 a Battery Point gun at Lyttelton accidentally sank the fishing boat "Dolphin" and killed its skipper.[73]
In 1972 the United States declassified a contingency plan for invading New Zealand. This plan consisted of a 120-page intelligence document called Naval War Plan for the Attack of Auckland, New Zealand. The intelligence for the report was gathered during the visit of the Great White Fleet to Auckland over six days in 1908. The plan advocated Manukau Harbour as the best invasion point and landing heavy guns on Rangitoto Island to shell the forts on the North Shore. The plan was not very realistic and may have been an exercise to keep young officers busy (see United States war plans; which allocated the colour Garnet to New Zealand as part of War Plan Red).[74]
Cooke, Peter (2002). Defending New Zealand: Ramparts on the Sea 1840s–1950s. Wellington: Defence of New Zealand Study Group. ISBN0-473-08923-8. Two volumes. Reviewed by Capital Defence.
Corbett, Peter D. (2003). A First Class Defended Port: The History of the Coast Defences of Auckland, its Harbour and Approaches.ISBN0-478-22452-4 (Available from Auckland Conservancy, Department of Conservation).
Glackin, Russell (2009) In defence of our land: a tour of New Zealand's historic harbour forts, Penguin, ISBN0-14-301186-3.
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises thirteen Regular Army regiments, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and five Army Reserve regiments.
The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery is the artillery personnel branch of the Canadian Army.
The New Zealand Army is the principal land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
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The Krepost Sveaborg was an Imperial Russian system of land and coastal fortifications constructed around Helsinki during the First World War. The purpose of the fortress was to provide a secure naval base for the Russian Baltic fleet and to protect Helsinki and block routes to Saint Petersburg from a possible German invasion. Krepost Sveaborg was part of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress, a coastal fortification system protecting access to Saint Petersburg by sea. The central part of Krepost Sveaborg was the old fortress of Suomenlinna where the fortress headquarters were located. Due to technological advances in artillery the old fortress was no longer capable of providing a sufficient protection, and a new main defensive line was built well beyond the old fortress boundaries. New coastal artillery guns built on outlying islands protected Krepost Sveaborg from the sea, while fortified lines constructed around Helsinki were intended to stop any attacks on land. The primary coastal guns were 10 in (254 mm) model 1891 guns and 6 in (152 mm) model 1892 Canet guns. Older 11 in (279 mm) model 1877 guns were also used. In summer 1917 the fortress had two hundred coastal or anti-landing guns, of which 24 were 10-inch guns in six batteries, 16 were 6-inch Canet guns in four batteries and twelve were 11-inch guns in three batteries. The artillery used in land fortifications included older coastal guns, old fixed carriage guns and newer light field guns. In March 1917, Krepost Sveaborg had a total of 463 guns, although many of them were obsolescent. Krepost Sveaborg was still partly incomplete in 1917 when the February Revolution halted most of the construction work. Some further construction work was carried out during the remaining year, but all work halted during the October Revolution. Following the Finnish Declaration of Independence, parts of the land fortifications were used in the Finnish Civil War. The coastal fortifications were later taken over by Finland to protect Helsinki, while the land fortifications were mostly abandoned and disarmed.
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The 13th Coast Regiment, New Zealand Artillery was a coastal artillery regiment of the New Zealand Military Forces. It was formed in May 1943 from the coastal defence batteries based in the lower South Island, which were formerly part of 11th Coast Regiment. The regiment consisted of:
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Coastal defenceand coastal fortification are measures taken to provide protection against military attack at or near a coastline, for example, fortifications and coastal artillery. Because an invading enemy normally requires a port or harbour to sustain operations, such defences are usually concentrated around such facilities, or places where such facilities could be constructed. Coastal artillery fortifications generally followed the development of land fortifications, usually incorporating land defences; sometimes separate land defence forts were built to protect coastal forts. Through the middle 19th century, coastal forts could be bastion forts, star forts, polygonal forts, or sea forts, the first three types often with detached gun batteries called "water batteries". Coastal defence weapons throughout history were heavy naval guns or weapons based on them, often supplemented by lighter weapons. In the late 19th century separate batteries of coastal artillery replaced forts in some countries; in some areas these became widely separated geographically through the mid-20th century as weapon ranges increased. The amount of landward defence provided began to vary by country from the late 19th century; by 1900 new US forts almost totally neglected these defences. Booms were also usually part of a protected harbor's defences. In the middle 19th century underwater minefields and later controlled mines were often used, or stored in peacetime to be available in wartime. With the rise of the submarine threat at the beginning of the 20th century, anti-submarine nets were used extensively, usually added to boom defences, with major warships often being equipped with them through early World War I. In World War I railway artillery emerged and soon became part of coastal artillery in some countries; with railway artillery in coast defence some type of revolving mount had to be provided to allow tracking of fast-moving targets.
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Fort Davis, is a coastal defence fortification close to Whitegate, County Cork, Ireland. Together with similar structures at Fort Mitchel, Fort Camden (Crosshaven), and Templebreedy Battery, the fort was built to defend the mouth of Cork Harbour. Though used as a fortification from the early 17th century, the current structures of the 74-acre site date primarily from the 1860s. Originally named Fort Carlisle and operated by the British Armed Forces, the fort was handed-over to the Irish Defence Forces in 1938, and renamed Fort Davis. The facility is owned by the Department of Defence, and is used as a military training site with no public access.
Fort Templebreedy, also known as Templebreedy Battery, was a coastal defence fortification close to Crosshaven, in County Cork, Ireland. Supplementing a number of earlier structures at Fort Camden and Fort Davis, the site was developed between 1904 and 1909 to defend the mouth of Cork Harbour. Used as a coastal artillery position until the 1940s, and as a military training camp until the late 20th century, many of the structures of the 37-acre site were dismantled over time, and part of the complex used as a pitch and putt course. In 2009, Cork County Council added the site to a proposed list of protected structures – though as of 2022 it remained in the ownership of the Department of Defence.
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The 10th Coast Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery was a territorial coastal artillery regiment of the New Zealand Army. The regiment was formed in 1940 as 10th Heavy Regiment, New Zealand Artillery and controlled the coastal defence batteries around Wellington Harbour. The regiment was progressively expanded and by the end of the war had batteries all over the lower North Island. The regiment was reduced to a cadre in 1957 and disbanded in 1967, along with the other coastal artillery regiments.
The 9th Coast Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery was a territorial coastal artillery regiment of the New Zealand Army. The regiment was formed in 1940 as 9th Heavy Regiment, New Zealand Artillery and controlled the coastal defence batteries around Auckland. The regiment was progressively expanded and by the end of the war had batteries all over the upper North Island. The regiment was reduced to a cadre in 1957 and disbanded in 1967, along with the other coastal artillery regiments.
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