I revisited Botany Bay to check out Henry Head Battery.
Category: Exploring
How not to get to the HMAS Parramatta
As you may know I like to go exploring bunkers and stuff around Sydney. Mainly because we are a young country and the Aboriginals weren’t too big on building things so I am limited in what I can see. But its fun and interesting and it gets me out of the house.
What happened to Sydney’s old tram tunnels?
Ok this is a short post. I have been parking here for years and it’s only recently that I have realised that no one else really knows about this place and how cool it is.
Continue reading What happened to Sydney’s old tram tunnels?
Exploring Sydney’s old explosives storage
Back in the days when Sydney was young, they needed to find a place to store their explosives away from the population. So it was decided that a remote bay (at the time) would be the place.
They constructed a series of warehouses that were set into alcoves cut from the sandstone hills around the bay. The warehouses were built with thick walls and light tin roofs. The idea was that if one exploded, it would blow upward and since they where all recessed into the hills the damage would be minimal.
West Head Bunkers
A little bit ago my mate Dumhed messaged me saying “Yo, I was flying by on my rocket spaceship and I spotted these bunkers. You better not go there without me.” So because of my jealousy of Dumhed’s talent and good looks. I went by myself anyway.
BIG MISTAKE.
Malabar Bunkers
This weekend I went and visited Malabar bunkers. I wanted to get out there after reading about the governments plan to bulldoze the site and build McMansions. The site contains one of the largest bunkers, towering about four stories tall. It also boasts its own small tram line that was used to move ammunition around the site.
Return to Callan Park to visit the secret tunnels
Today I had one of my exploration dreams come true. Access to the underground tunnels of Callan Park. The site of Australia’s only Kirkbride building and until recently a massive insane asylum.
Continue reading Return to Callan Park to visit the secret tunnels
More bunkers of Middle Head
I recently headed back out to Middle Head bunkers. It’s had a lot of work done on it recently. Cleaning up the site and excavating ruins of the older fortifications. But that’s another story which I will do soon. I love this place 🙂
On this trip I wanted to check out a bunker I spotted on Google Earth. This is what I found.
The wreck of the SS Minmi
On one of my explorations I found a ship wreck near Botany Bay.
Fort Banks, Botany Bay
Fort Banks is a large coastal fortification setup to defend Botany Bay. It existed pre-WW2 but received an upgrade of two 9.2 inch guns around this time. The fort these days is slowly being buried by the drifting dunes and plant life. Indeed finding entrances to it now involves crawing through bushes and contortions to get in. But once inside you’ll find a large underground complex to explore. The photos below come from two visits to the site and I think there is even more to find.