Fort Nepean and Nepean National Park

Although the Quarantine Station in Point Nepean National Park [ previous post] commanded a lot of our attention the rest of the park also had a lot to offer. The scenery was absolutely thrilling with rocky coastlines, edged in the many shades of green, yellow and grey, giving way to the vast blue expanse of Bass Strait.

Point Nepean

As it was a long weekend with warm, calm days there were many people exploring this most interesting and beautiful park. There is a barrier across the road at Gunners Cottage so we parked our car and started walking towards Fort Nepean on the tip of the peninsula. A kilometre or so later when inappropriately shod feet were giving us the message that walking was not a great idea, we met a family returning from their trek to the Fort. The 2.6 km had taken them two hours, one way. Instantly and unanimously we decided that walking was not the way to go. The alternatives were either renting a bike from the Information Office at the Quarantine Station or taking the Hop On Hop Off bus. As we now had less time to spare, we took the bus which proved to be an excellent decision as we soon saw that many stretches would have been too much of a biking challenge for us. We passed several groups aged twenty to thirty -ish struggling up the steeper hills having dismounted their bikes.

Cheviot Hill, Point Nepean National Park

One of the places where we hopped off the bus was Cheviot Hill, the highest point on the peninsula. As I looked down at the waves crashing close to the shore sending dramatic, white foam surging over the plentiful rocks, I wondered why, of all the lovely beaches to choose from, did a Prime Minister with a love of sea swimming choose this treacherous one to take a dip, disappearing forever without a single trace. That was on Sunday 17 December 1967, and Harold Holt was the Prime Minister. In 1979 the waters around the area were dedicated to him, being named the Harold Holt Marine Reserve. There is a memorial to him nearby.

Cheviot Beach, Point Nepean

Cheviot Hill is so named because of a shipwreck tragedy that occurred in 1887. Shipwrecks were quite common along the Victorian coast in those early days with Bass Strait often being rather wild and the coastline not as understood as it is now. The entrance to Port Phillip is very narrow and has famously treacherous currents giving it the nickname "The Rip" and many a ship came to grief while trying to enter. On the 19th October 1887 a steamer was wrecked on an offshore rocky reef and the fifty passengers and crew were washed up and thrown against the rocks. Despite brave rescue efforts, thirty five people were lost.

Shipwreck items in the Queenscliffe museum

 Cheviot Hill became an important location for the defence of Port Phillip and Melbourne. In 1942 a gun was added here to supplement the already heavily armed Fort on the tip of the peninsula. This gun, with a range of 9 km, was camouflaged to protect it from aircraft. The recesses in the tunnel through the hill which gives access to this gun were used to store ammunition and other supplies.

Cheviot Hill

The commands to fire were given from this observation post, previously camouflaged, a short distance away.

Observation Point, Cheviot Hill, Point Nepean

The view from the observation post was, I thought, truly beautiful.

View from Cheviot Hill towards Port Phillip entrance

On the tip of the Peninsula, guarding the entrance to the harbour is Fort Nepean.This armed fortification which was manned from the 1880s until 1945,  was a vital location for the defence of Port Philip Bay and Melbourne. In the 1880s the young colony of Victoria was in the throes of a gold rush which brought with it a huge rush of men from the rest of the world, with gold in their eyes eager to get to this newly noticed promising land. The Mother country was also having a hard time with its European neighbours, leading to fears for a raid on England's wealth, including that in its colonies at the other end of the world. A Fort was quickly constructed  to offer protection from these perceived threats.

Entrance to Port Phillip viewed from Fort Nepean "The Rip"

The Fort is well hidden with underground tunnels lined with brick. In the walls there are recesses where supplies were stowed. 

Fort Nepean

Some of the tunnels were narrower than the one below with the light source being a pencil thin chimney of light.

Qver the years there were many defence scares, a considerable number of them without foundation. Hidden in the hill, with tunnels, an underground bomb safe room, various guns and an engine room, this fort guarded the narrow "Rip", monitoring and challenging all ships that braved the fury of the Bass Strait currents to enter. 

Fort Nepean

Below the ground we found part of this "Disappearing" gun! Installed in 1888, it was raised above ground level to fire after which it disappeared as quickly as the soldiers underground could operate the machinery. It was then cleaned and reloaded ready for the next shot.

Disappearing gun, Fort Nepean

Outside on display were these two six inch Mark VII guns, each with their own claim to fame. One of them fired the first Allied shot on 5 August 1914, capturing the German ship Ptalz as she sought to escape Port Phillip Bay.

The second gun also fired the first Allied shot only a few hours after declaration of war on 4 September 1939. In this case it was to warn a Bass Strait trading ship, the Woniora, after it tried to enter the Bay after ignoring signals to identify itself. It quickly complied and was permitted to enter.

View down to the Engine Room in Fort Nepean

As I wandered around looking at the many gun sites which formerly protected the area from enemy invasion I reflected on how the methods of defence and making war have changed. As I see it, situations of conflict arise more suddenly and military actions appear to happen with great speed, often delivered by remote controlled drones. 

The end result is the same: loss of life- mostly lives of the least powerful people, loss of personal and community safety, rape and extreme hardship for the women and children, deterioration in values and beliefs of both the individual and the nations, diminished respect for differences in cultures, huge numbers of displaced people trying to find a safe place in countries that mostly do not want them, confused nationalism, economic misery and health issues and more that extend over subsequent generations. 

Since beginning this post we have had another ANZAC day and the phrase "Lest We Forget" has been heard and seen in every corner of the country -  and rightly so. I do, however, think that there are a great many things about wars that we should not forget, most of which seldom get a mention.