National Heritage List

NOMINATION FORM

This is the official form to nominate a place for inclusion in the National Heritage List. All questions are compulsory.

Complete this before you start the form:

I have read the National Heritage List Nomination Guide (further help is available by emailing [email protected]).

The nominated place is not already in the National Heritage List.

I have considered the different heritage lists, and have concluded that State, Territory or Local Heritage Listing would not be more appropriate.

If I am not the place owner, I have consulted the place owner have attached evidence of their support of this nomination.

I understand that many more places are nominated than can be assessed.

I understand that only the listed values of a place are protected once the place is included in the National Heritage List (not the place itself).

Nominated place

Q1. Place name:  To the south ‐ Shortland Bluff and environs.  To the north – Queenscliff Foreshore Reserve, including Princess Park, Citizens Park, Queenscliff Pier, Pilots’ Row and Pilots’ Jetty

Q2. Place address:  To the south ‐ 131‐135 Hesse Street, Queenscliff, 3225, plus other adjoining sites without designated street addresses.  To the north – 31‐41 Gellibrand Street, 1‐3 Wharf Street, 1‐5 Tobin Drive, Weeroona Parade plus other adjoining sites without designated street addresses.

Q3. Area and boundary: In addition to , the Queenscliff Headland site (as shown in red dotted line on the map below) is bounded by:  Shortland Bluff o To the north, by Fort Queenscliff o To the east, by the high mark of Bay o To the south, by the high tide mark of Port Phillip Bay o To the west, initially from the north following Hesse Street, then to the south by a line south‐west from the south western end of Hesse Street to Port Phillip Bay.  Queenscliff Foreshore Reserve o To the north, by Wharf Street to Harbour Street, thence from a line to the south‐east to the high tide mark of Port Phillip Bay o To the east, by the high tide mark of Port Phillip Bay o To the south, by Fort Queenscliff o To the west, by Gellibrand Street. 1 Q4a. Map:

Q4b. Is the precise location sensitive? If so, why? The location is not sensitive

Q5. Heritage type: Select all that apply.

Historic heritage

Stakeholders

Q6. Name of place owner: The majority of the site is administered by the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DELWP).

Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning ‐ Barwon South West () Phone: 03 5226 4667 Address: 30 Little Malop Street, Geelong, Victoria, 3220

On a day‐to‐day basis, the majority of the site is managed by the (BoQ) as a Committee of Management under the Crown Lands (Reserves) Act. 2

Borough of Queenscliffe 50 Learmonth Street (PO Box 93), Queenscliff, Victoria, 3225 Email – [email protected]

Part of the Shortland Bluff site contains three critical navigational aids essential for safe shipping through Port Phillip Heads. As shown in the adjoining image, these are:  the White lighthouse  Hume Tower  Murray Tower.

These structures are administered by the Victorian Ports Corporation (). Tel: 03 8347 8300

Level 5, 530 Collins Street Melbourne VIC 3000

GPO Box 261 Melbourne Vic 3001

Q7. Name of place occupier: All of the area proposed for incorporation into National Heritage is Crown land. Leasing and licencing arrangements on the subject land will need to confirmed via the Borough of Queenscliff or the Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning.

Q8. Is the owner and occupier aware of the nomination? Do they support your nomination?

Both the Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning and the Borough of Queenscliffe are aware of this application – refer to emails below:

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Q9. Who else has an interest in the place?

 Department of Defence, (regarding Fort Queenscliff)  Commonwealth Government, through the local Member for Corangamite, the Hon. Sarah Henderson MP (contact: [email protected])  Victorian Government, through the local Member for Bellarine, the Hon. Ms Lisa Neville MP (contact: [email protected])  Mayor and Councillors Queenscliff Borough Council ‐ [email protected]  The President, Queenscliff Historical Museum, Mr. Garry Spry, at Museum, Hesse Street, Queenscliff (contact: [email protected])  The President, Queenscliff Maritime Museum, Mr. John Barrett, at Queenscliff Maritime Museum (contact: [email protected])  Mr David Connoley, President, Queenscliff Community Association (contact: [email protected])  Mr Rob Minty, President, Civic Association (contact [email protected])  Dr Ursula de Jong, Associate Professor, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University (contact: [email protected])  Ms. Michelle Jepson, Friends of the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse (contact: [email protected])  Mr Chris Smythe, Community member (contact: [email protected])  Joan Lindros, Geelong Environment Council (contact: [email protected])

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Importance of the place

Q10. Why is this place of outstanding heritage significance to ?

This submission relates to the Queenscliff Headland, comprising the conjoined sites of Shortland Bluff, Fort Queenscliff and the Queenscliff Foreshore Reserve. For the past 150 years, the Queenscliff Headland has provided strategically critical views (see map below) essential to the economic growth and protection of Australia. To the south, can be seen ‘’, Point Nepean and, past Point Lonsdale, out to . To the east can be seen the important shipping lanes used to access the major ports of Melbourne and Geelong.

Queenscliff Headland

Point Lonsdale Point Nepean Lighthouse Reserve

Stories and the exceptional geographic position of the Queenscliff Headland aid in the understanding and appreciation of Australia’s history and natural environment. Notably the site has evolved through an intensive defence and navigational/rescue period to the usage (primarily a navigational function with increasing tourism and recreational usage).

The Headland provides an archetype of a maritime and defence landscape that still incorporates both important navigational aids supporting the economic development of Australia, as well as a comprehensive range of military structures associated with the defence of Australia dating back to pre‐World War 1.

The evolving cultural landscape produced by such prolonged maritime and military usage is important for its association with, and ability to illustrate, a broad range of processes which exemplify the strategic role of the Queenscliff Headland in the growth and defence of Melbourne, the Colony of Victoria and Australia under Colonial and Commonwealth governments. The Commonwealth Heritage Statement of Significance for Fort Queenscliff substantiates how the entire Headland should be assessed as a whole due to the complete integration of the area’s two primary functions ‐ defending Australia and enabling safe navigation:

5 Defence: The Fort is “the first and the primary defence site for Port Phillip Bay (and it) played a command role in relation to the other fortifications around the heads of the bay. Fort Queenscliff was a key element in making the bay the most heavily defended British port in the at the time.”

Maritime: “The Fort also has strong associations with the early maritime history of Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay. Its role as a navigational aid and signalling post are significant, Integration of military and maritime infrastructure especially as the earliest such Queenscliff Historical Society: Fred Kruger 1882 structures around the bay were constructed on this site.”

The entrance to Port Phillip Bay was first navigated in 1802. By 1835, only 12 vessels sailed through Port Phillip Heads, the following year 81 entered the Bay, most from , carrying sheep. Then the pastoral settlement of Victoria gathered pace with the creating a completely new impetus with rapidly increasing trade and migration. The colonial peak of shipping movements was reached in 1854 when 2,629 vessels brought immigrants and goods to the colony. The vital role of Shortland Bluff in enabling safe passage through Port Phillip Heads determined and shaped the history of Melbourne and Geelong, thereby impacting Victorian economic development.

The Queenscliff Headland demonstrates the somewhat ad hoc advancement of decision making relating to infrastructure development. The Government received sound advice from notable mariners such as Captain (later Governor of New Zealand) in 1836, Captain Owen Stanley from HMS Rattlesnake in 1849, and Captain (later Admiral) John Erskine from HMS Havannah, both in 1849, that the optimal place for a lighthouse was at The Heads (with Stanley and Erskine nominating Point Lonsdale, Hobson preferring Point Nepean). This view was supported by other prominent Victorian marine specialists, however, the colonial government opted to put two lighthouses at Shortland Bluff, not Point Lonsdale. The two lighthouses on Shortland’s Bluff were constructed by 1862 and are significant for their association with the development and establishment of navigational aids along the Australian coastline in context of a more coordinated approach to coastal lighting as exemplified by the 1856 Lighthouse Commission, which manifested the first Inter‐colonial Agreement on the provision of lights around Australia. Despite the two lighthouses on the Queenscliff Headland, numerous shipwrecks at The Heads kept occurring with considerable loss of life.

The treacherous and busy route through Bass Strait was known historically as one of the worst shipping lanes in the world, particularly for large immigrant and cargo sailing ships completing their voyages from Europe to Australia. The Rip’s geomorphology produces volatile sea conditions which has caused numerous wrecks and strandings requiring urgent assistance. The large number of maritime disasters at The Heads is well‐documented and, in many respects, The Rip between Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean represents the logical end of the “Shipwreck Coast”. Parks Victoria cites that thirty‐one of the 120 shipwrecks known to have occurred within a 10 nautical mile radius of Port Phillip Heads are thought to be within the Marine National Park abutting Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean.

The Queenscliff Headland has a strong association with water‐based rescue with a lifeboat being maintained in the precinct from 1850s (the calmer water around Queenscliff ensured this site was the preferred location to launch rescues). This function dates back to the difficult and dangerous task of signalmen and lighthouse keepers in going to the aid of mariners in difficulties around the treacherous Port Phillip Heads. With the improvement of communications, Point Lonsdale lighthouse keepers could notify the Queenscliff lifeboat of an emerging crisis and there are many well‐recorded events in which the Queenscliff lifeboat played an essential part in saving lives. The first jetty at Queenscliff was constructed in about 1856 and was located at the end of Wharf Street. A lifeboat was added soon afterwards and a lifeboat shed in 1860. This pier became known as the Fisherman's Pier. As the town prospered, the increasing use of steamers for pleasure and for carriage of goods created a need for a new pier extending to deeper water. A new pier known as the Steamer Pier was constructed in 1884 to the south of the first pier. A shelter

6 shed in 1886‐87 and a new lifeboat shed between 1926 and 1929 to house the newly‐arrived lifeboat Queenscliffe. The operation of the Queenscliff lifeboat was significant as it demonstrated the social obligation felt by Queenscliff residents to rescue seafarers at great personal risk.

Another important navigational function carried out on the Queenscliff Headland is the operation of the Port Phillip Sea Pilots. In 1839, just four years after European settlement of Port Phillip, George Tobin, obtained permission to commence piloting operations for shipping into Port Phillip Bay. Tobin operated his piloting business from the beach at Shortland Bluff just inside the Rip. Living in tents, he and his crew of five would launch their open whaleboat to row out and meet incoming ships. The pilot service has operated uninterrupted, and for much of this time, the headquarters was at Shortland Bluff, resulting in the construction of the pilots’ jetty and ancillary buildings (refer both adjoining undated map, possibly c1865, showing extensive pilot presence and, Cox’s 1874 survey chart of Port Phillip Heads showing pilots’ jetty in red). The Port Phillip Sea Pilots continue to be based in Queenscliff providing navigation services to the extensive shipping entering Port Phillip.

While the site comprehensively illustrates the emerging nation’s dependence on the sea for transportation at that time, the sea also provided the greatest military risk – via a sea borne threat. The Queenscliff Headland’s strategic position overlooking the entry to Port Phillip Bay inevitably made it important for the defence of Australia. Geo‐ political and colonial defence based on fears of foreign aggression drove the development of coastal fortifications from the 1870s. There were increasing concerns of threats to Australia when Russia and Britain came close to war in 1879 (Constantinople) and again in 1885 (Afghanistan). In 1879, the Queenscliff defences were upgraded and work began on the Swan and South Channel Forts and necessitated the relocation of the lighthouse keeper's quarters to inside the Fort's enclosure.

The fortifications of Port Phillip Bay are part of a larger cultural landscape stretching around the shores from Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff, through the to Point Nepean. The geography of the bay is an important component of the colonial defences and adds a scenic dimension to them. The fortifications of Port Phillip Bay are part of a network, not just as isolated defence structures. This linkage dates back to the reports produced by Sir on the defence of Port Phillip Bay in 1860 – refer adjoining map.

7 The Queenscliff Headland retains some of the most important examples of Australian military infrastructure therefore represent an important reminder of the participation of those personnel engaged in the domestic defence of Australia’ particularly during the First and Second World Wars (noting Fort Queenscliff was instrumental in directing fire on the Pfalz, the first shot of WW1). New discoveries at Shortland Bluff, notably the identification of a rare ‘see‐saw’ searchlight emplacement, emphasize the extraordinary heritage values on the site.

While the Queenscliff Headland is nominated for assessment, the site's very strong association with the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse Reserve (now on the Finalized Priority Assessment List for National Heritage for 2017‐18) and Point Nepean give these interconnected headlands an extraordinary narrative of shared marine and defence history. The control mechanisms exercised across these three sites have included defence, policing, customs, quarantine, pilotage, immigration and been described as “landscapes of power and resistance”.

HISTORIC THEMES DEMONSTRATED BY THE QUEENSCLIFF HEADLAND:

3. Developing local, regional and national economies  3.7 Establishing communications 3.7.2 ‐ Developing electric means of communication  3.8 Moving goods and people 3.8.1 ‐ Shipping to and from Australian ports  3.16 Struggling with remoteness, hardship & failure 3.16.1 ‐ Dealing with and disasters

7. Governing  7.1 Australia as a province of the  7.7 Defending Australia 7.7.1 ‐ Providing for the common defence 7.7.2 ‐ Preparing to face invasion 7.7.3 ‐ Going to war

8. Developing Australia’s cultural life  8.1 Organising recreation 8.1.4 ‐ Enjoying the natural environment  8.5 Forming associations 8.5.2 ‐ Helping other people  8.9 Commemorating significant events 8.9.1 ‐ Remembering disasters 8.9.2 ‐ Remembering public spectacles  8.10 ‐ Enjoying the natural environment

Q11. Which criteria does the place meet?

 Criterion A ‐ Processes a. Defence: Themes: Defending Australia; and, Providing for the common defence. Military infrastructure on the Queenscliff Headland from the 1860s, is historically significant for its association with Victoria's, and Australia's, military history. The Fort was begun as a result of fears of foreign aggression and was further developed in the latter part of the nineteenth century amid renewed concerns about attack. It should be noted that that military operations and infrastructure extended well beyond the confines of the current Fort with emplacements and civil earthworks in numerous places to the south of the Fort’s southern boundary. The Fort was the first and the primary defence site for Port Phillip Bay and played a command role in relation to the other fortifications around the heads of the bay. Fort Queenscliff was a key element in making the bay the most heavily defended British port in the southern hemisphere at the time leading to the sobriquet ‘the Gibraltar of the South’. The Fort also has strong associations with the early maritime history of Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay. Its role as a navigational aid and signalling post are significant, especially as the earliest such structures around the bay were constructed on this site.

8 b. Maritime: Themes: Shipping to and from Australian ports; Developing harbour facilities; and Establishing communications. The Black lighthouse (within the Fort) and the White lighthouse with other navigational structures on Shortland’s Bluff demonstrate the importance of a system of navigational aids in a time when shipping was of singular significance in maintaining commercial links between Melbourne and Geelong and Britain and Australian colonial ports. The lighthouses were built in 1862 using the same bluestone stock, however the White one was painted to distinguish it in daylight. Concurrently the redundant wooden lighthouse from Shortland Bluff was dismantled and re‐erected at Point Lonsdale in 1863. All three lighthouses were critically important by providing the first organized guiding lights to the entrance of Port Phillip Bay visible from sea. European discovery of the entrance to Port Phillip Bay occurred in 1802 when Acting Lt John Murray in command the ‘Lady Nelson’ sighted the promontories now known as Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean. With the later exploration of Port Phillip Bay and the consequent development of the towns of Geelong and Melbourne, safe navigation through the dangerous Port Phillip Heads became vital. The promontories at Point Lonsdale and Shortland’s Bluff provided obvious locations for the placement of navigational guidance structures.

Attributes ‐ All aspects of the Fort and Shortland’s Bluff, including buildings and other constructed features, as well as site planning and layout.

The entire Shortland’s Bluff and Fort Queenscliff precinct is intrinsically linked to both Point Nepean’s defence structures and Point Lonsdale’s defence and maritime structures. The image shows that Shortland’s Bluff (in addition to the Fort) was also used for 20th Century defence of Port Phillip with several cliff‐ based emplacements (as shown by red arrows).

The military linkage between all three Port Phillip Heads headlands (Queenscliff/Nepean/Lonsdale), dates back to reports produced by British officer Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel, then Sir) Peter Scratchley RE on the defence of Port Phillip Bay in 1860. Scratchley was sent to Victoria to plan a system of defence for the colony and he recommended that four forts be built near the heads of the bay (refer to map above). Only Queenscliff was developed at this time but he identified the triangular nature of defending the Heads .

In 1860, a sandstone sea wall was built on Shortland’s Bluff at Queenscliff, and subsequently a battery of three 68‐ pounder muzzle loading guns was installed above. The Victorian Heritage Register notes that: “the wall has no equivalent in Victoria and is the most substantial wall of any Scratchley fort in Australia. The guns were manned by a volunteer unit raised from the local area. There are still a dozen Gun Emplacements, dating from the late 1870s‐early 1890s. These are mainly concrete and brick, with some use of bluestone, and several emplacements have bolts indicating where the guns were positioned.”

In the late 1870s Scratchley returned to Australia with Major General Sir to advise on defensive measures in a number of the colonies. In 1877 they recommended improvements at Queenscliff. Two years later the original battery was demolished and two new ones, an upper and a lower battery, were installed by 1882, at which time there were strong fears of Russian aggression. The Victorian was moved permanently to Queenscliff from Melbourne.

9 This proposal to provide Shortland’s Bluff (including the Queenscliff Lighthouse Reserve) with a National or Commonwealth Heritage listing is undertaken on the basis there are strong historic links with the adjoining Fort Queenscliff and the other two strategic headlands at Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean.

The geographic and historic rationale for National Heritage listing for all three headlands is well articulated by Louise Honman in her abstract Victoria’s Gibraltar ‐ Fortifications of Port Phillip Bay:

“By 1890 Port Phillip Bay was regarded as the most heavily fortified port of the British Empire in the Southern Hemisphere, leading to its title "The Gibraltar of the South". The geography of Port Phillip Bay encouraged the British engineers to adopt the coastal defence designs they were familiar with, achieving an almost perfect defence system…The coastal defences are located either side of an extremely narrow and dangerous piece of water called ’The Rip’. This entrance to the bay has caused enormous damage to shipping and even today all ships entering and leaving Port Phillip Bay must be piloted. Whilst The Rip has its own maritime folklore, the opposing headlands of Point Nepean and Point Lonsdale provided the ideal locations on which coastal defence batteries could be constructed. These batteries were supplemented military establishments at , Queenscliff and . The coastal defences of Port Philip Bay are part of a large cultural landscape built between about 1860 and 1940, as a result of remote political adapted to the particular geography of Port Phillip Bay. Local geography and historical events half a world away combined to the government of the day to commit huge resources to the construction of these fortifications, in order to defend the city of Melbourne from attack by foreign forces.“

 Criterion B – Rarity

Geo‐political and colonial defence needs drove the contemporary development of coastal fortifications at Melbourne from the 1870s. Fort Queenscliff/Shortland’s Bluff has been part of a strategic outer line in the defence of Melbourne’s ports and harbours since the 1870s, in conjunction with fortifications at South Channel Fort, Swan Island, Point Nepean and later, Point Lonsdale. Fort Queenscliff fortifications, as part of the system of defence for Port Phillip Bay, best illustrate British military design and technology of the 1870s and 1880s, under the influence of the reports of Jervois and Scratchley in 1877.

It will be detailed later in this report why Shortland’s Bluff must be regarded as integral to an assessment of the Fort’s design. The Fort’s Commonwealth Heritage listing states the mass unreinforced concrete and exposed and rendered brick vaulting of the seaward defences are on a scale rarely seen elsewhere. Currently the seaward earthworks wall has a spectacular and unimpeded view of Port Phillip Heads as shown in the photograph below.

Pt Nepean The Rip Pt Lonsdale

10 What is important about the view from the seaward earthwork wall is that it sets the context for the location of the Fort based on its commanding position overlooking the Heads. Associated with this view, Fort Queenscliff also has the rare distinction of being heavily involved in firing the first shot of Word War 1. At 11 pm on 4 August 1914, England declared war on Germany, which was announced in Australia at 12.30 pm on 5 August by Prime Minister Mr Cook. At that moment, the German freighter “Pfalz” (outbound from Melbourne) was hove‐to off Point Nepean to have her papers checked. Being found in order, she was given clearance to resume her voyage to sea under the guidance of an Australian pilot. At 12.45 pm, the declaration of war was flashed to Point Nepean by heliograph from Fort Queenscliff and before the Pfalz could reach the Heads, a shot was fired across her bows as an order to return to port.

This military action is extremely well known and demonstrates the historic interconnectedness of the fortified headlands.

A recent major development on Shortland Bluff is the identification of a ‘see‐saw’ searchlight emplacement, buried in sand at the southern face of the Bluff. It is believed there are only three other see‐saw searchlight emplacements remaining worldwide. All are linked to the period 1888‐ 1893. The Queenscliff example appears the newest and most developed design. The other examples are; Fort Victoria, Isle of Wight (restored), Warden Point Battery, Isle of Wight (poor condition) and Fort Ballance, Wellington N.Z. (very poor condition).

11 The war scare of 1885‐6 led to the see‐saw light being included in the Port Phillip defences (at the base of Shortland's Bluff cliff). The general objective with search lights was to place them low ‐ close to sea level well below the guns and usually on the flank. Further research is required on this exciting rediscovery which has potential to generate significant interest in its preservation and would be a remarkable addition to the precinct’s defence structures.

The maritime structures in the Fort and Shortland’s Bluff are rare 19th Century Australian examples of an integrated approach to port entry. The scale and costs associated with the construction of expensive stone structures to house technically advanced British Chance Brothers lamps is indicative of the importance of safe navigation to the nation.

The Victorian Heritage Register notes Queenscliff Pier and Lifeboat Complex is of historical significance for its associations with the lifeboat service, the sea pilot service, the famous bay ferries and paddle steamers. Queenscliff Pier, built between 1884 and 1889 is of historical significance as a symbol of the early bay steamers and the numerous distinguished patrons brought by them from Melbourne to Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale. The pier perpetuates the memory of the Bay Steamer trade and the now demolished Fishermen's Pier. It contains the last lifeboat shed to be constructed over the water in Queenscliff. The Queenscliff Pier and Lifeboat complex is of architectural significance as a collection of rare surviving intact timber pier structures. The lifeboat shed is of architectural significance as a rare intact example of a jetty mounted lifeboat shed. Few if any of these sheds remain in Victoria. Similarly the barrel shape of the shed roof is an uncommon aspect generally seen only in nineteenth century railway goods sheds. The shelter shed with its arched wrought iron truss work and panelled timber interior is a more sophisticated and direct reminder of the bay steamer days. The pier therefore has ties to virtually every major international/interstate/ local shipwreck and subsequent rescue attempts undertaken in the nineteenth and twentieth century at Port Phillip Heads. The pier and its buildings are of aesthetic significance as a prominent landmark on the bay representing a bygone era in Queenscliff's history. The associated lifeboat (now in the Queenscliff Maritime Museum) is of technological significance as it is the only example of its type known to exist in Australia. It demonstrates boat building and rescue technologies at the time of its construction in 1926.

Attributes ‐ The scale of the seaward defences and the contextual views across Shortland’s Bluff to the south. The rarity of various military structures. The rarity of the lifeboat structure and associated equipment.

 Criterion D ‐ Characteristic values The Commonwealth Heritage listing for Fort Queenscliff makes the following key point in the proximate relationship of the Fort to Shortland’s Bluff: The seaward and landward defences, together with the other elements of the site, all help to illustrate the evolution of military technology during the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The magazines, gun emplacements, earthworks, sea wall and Fort wall, seaward ditch/dry moat, , offices, barracks, parade ground and other features, and the spatial relationships between all these elements all help to convey the changing requirements of the defence forces over time, and simultaneously combine to represent a very valuable example of a coastal fort developed over the period.

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The strategic location and siting of these aspects of the place conform with the General Guiding Principles employed for a typical harbour under the Joint Naval and Military Committee for the defence of colonial ports by 1893. These include overlapping fields of fire from fortifications on headlands overlooking the approaches and channels and supporting barracks, all features recommended in the Jervois‐Scratchley reports of 1877. The key point is that the Fort was designed as a functioning military base with all elements working toward the objective of defending the emerging nation. At the time the Fort was constructed, armaments utilized line‐of‐sight firing, hence a clear view of Port Phillip Heads and the south channel was essential as shown in the adjacent photograph.

The current unimpeded view enables the comprehension of the defence planning of work of Scratchley and Jervois and how ‘form follows function’.

It is relevant to cite the work of the City of which has started the complex planning process associated with the preservation of views on the understanding that key views contribute importantly to heritage values. The driver for this was the ongoing incremental loss of important views which contribute intangibly but definitely to a “sense of place”:

“The views designated in the London Plan are highly valued because they make a significant contribution to people’s ability to understand and appreciate London as a whole. They are also highly valued because they allow a viewer to see significant historic and cultural landmarks in their landscape or townscape setting and to understand the relationship between them.

Therefore, while it is neither desirable nor necessary to preserve in stasis every aspect of a Designated View, changes to them should be managed in a way that does not harm the composition of the view or key elements of its character. New development …should safeguard the setting of landmarks (including Strategically Important Landmarks and World Heritage Sites)… New development should not harm a viewer’s ability to appreciate the Outstanding Universal Value of a World Heritage Site.”

This approach to maintaining key views has dictated the logic behind the proposed shape of the area defined for heritage listing (refer to map in Q.4a above). Taking the view from the Fort’s southern gun rampart as the datum point, the objective is

13 the preservation of the unobstructed view from Point Nepean to the south‐ east, around to Point Lonsdale in the south‐west. The aerial photograph to the right together with the chart below, shows the proposed ‘protected view area’ intended to ensure comprehension of the functional scope of the Fort’s defence operations and Shortland Bluff’s navigational aids.

It is important to note the views of both Shortland’s Bluff and the Fort from the water also have heritage significance and indeed retain a critical role in providing safe navigation. ET Raison in his book, ‘Lighthouses at Port Philip Heads’, states: “As ships approached the Heads, a white light showed below the white, upper light, and as the ship advanced, it moved into the red sector of the lower light. While the red light was visible below the white light, the ship was in the channel and could safely enter the bay. The operation was enhanced in 1924, and again in 1974, as a result of the widening of the channel (when) a steel structure, known as the Hume tower, was erected to the west of the lower light which indicated the western extremity of the new channel when viewed in line with the upper light. In May 1974 another steel structure, known as the Murray Tower, was erected to replace the obelisk (on the eastern side) which was demolished soon after. The lights on both towers operate in unison with the lower light.”

The two images to the right and below are taken from a navigational chart produced by the Victorian Department of Ports and Harbours in 1935. They show the four primary navigational aids in the Queenscliff precinct: the Black and White lighthouses and two associated towers. The western red Hume tower, when aligned with the Black Lighthouse (in Fort Queenscliff), ensures ships inbound or outbound are on what is called the 'Western Lead’. The eastern green Murray tower serves a similar purpose. When it and its lights are aligned with the Black Lighthouse that is termed the 'Eastern Lead'. The White and Black Lighthouses align to indicate the Great Ship Channel.

Fundamentally there has been little change in the built environment observable from shipping entering the Heads (other than the replacement of the Hume and Murray towers). While not immediately applicable to heritage considerations under the EPBC Act, the fact the mariner’s view of Shortland’s Bluff has remained consistent for generations should not be ignored, and in fact should be formally recognized as a heritage navigational line. Ample evidence is available to confirm the visual navigational guides are ‘mission critical’ to sailors and should be recognized

14 as such. Point Lonsdale historian, Mr Lester Hunt, has advised on the importance of maintaining the integrity of the Shortland’s Bluff navigational aids: “By way of example, the western Hume Tower beacon is vital to the Port Phillip Sea Pilot's launch. The launch driver, coxswain, lines that beacon up with the Black Lighthouse behind it to establish the ‘pilot leads’. The western beacon flashes twice and is directional, white means ‘correct line’, red means ‘danger’ with potential impact on the Lonsdale . The beacon’s use is critical both outbound or inbound on an ebb tide, day or night. Many small boats use the ‘pilot lead’ to keep out of large swells towards the middle of the Rip. Nearer the Lonsdale Reef there is a run out of water that is generally calmer which is where mariners aim to be on the pilot lead. There is only a 50m margin between the reef and the large swells towards the middle of the Rip. The launch driver, coxswain, is constantly checking the west fort beacon over his shoulder outbound, there are only seconds to ‘get it right’. Contrary to what people think these days, the on‐board electronic navigational equipment is good but it has not replaced the visual navigational markers. In the critical areas of the Rip the visual markers are constantly referred to and the electronics are a backup”.

While acknowledging it is unusual to have views from the water protected, it is nevertheless strongly implied in the requirements of the Queenscliffe Planning Scheme S.42.03 Schedule 2 which states inter alia: “The Queenscliff Lighthouse/ Ocean View car park are elevated and contain/ or provide panoramic views to the Borough’s most attractive and striking physical features. Landscape character objective to be achieved…within the Queenscliff Lighthouse/Ocean View car park area:  maintain and promote the significant views of Port Phillip Heads, Point Nepean, Point Lonsdale Lighthouse, the shipping lanes, Lonsdale Bight and the coastline from land and sea; and  protect important natural and built features of the landscape including the Shortland’s Bluff, the cliffs, the Queenscliff Lighthouse, the Queenscliff Fort, and the historic gun emplacements.  To protect landscape features and scenic vantage points from visual intrusion resulting from the inappropriate siting and design of new development.”

Attributes ‐ All the features noted above.

 Criterion E ‐ Aesthetic characteristics The Commonwealth Heritage Register states “Fort Queenscliff possesses notable aesthetic qualities. It is prominently located on the coast and is a major element of the townscape, featuring a number of landmarks such as the lighthouse and the landward wall and keep. The wall and keep also provide a clear division between the military and civilian precincts of the town.”

The aesthetic characteristics of the Fort and Shortland’s Bluff, while important in themselves, must also be assessed in a wider context then just those two sites. An article by the Defence Housing Association notes: “The fort is part of a wider heritage‐listed area, of about 20 hectares, which includes the 's Command and , the Pilot Station and jetty, the whole of the foreshore reserve, the old boat pier, the fishing jetty, the Anglican Church of St. George the Martyr, the Rectory, and portions of Gellibrand, Stokes, Bridge, Bay, Hesse, Beach, King and Learmonth Streets. This area exemplifies the unique character of Queenscliff and its varied history as pilot station, fishing village, garrison town and holiday resort. It is said that in no other area in Victoria is the entire history of a town or locality so aptly displayed by its built form, its land use and its environment.”

In terms of the aesthetics of Shortland’s Bluff, the view across it from the Fort’s southern earthworks wall is world class and features prominently in promotional material. The fact that the view is unimpeded (other than the lighthouse and associated beacons) is increasingly rare given the for development along the coast. The White and Black Lighthouses provide a typical and aesthetically pleasing example of an early 20th century lighthouse design.

With regard to the classic coastal parkland which runs north from Fort Queenscliff, the 2008 Queenscliffe Heritage Study by Lovell Chen, 2008 notes both Princess and Citizens Parks “have always played a significant role in the town life of Queenscliff. They provide a natural meeting place for both residents and visitors and dominate the main beachfront views… Upon completion of upgrading works to Symonds Street and the pier in the late 1880’s, planting was begun in Princess Park, At about this time the visually heavy picket fence was replaced by the more open post and rail fencing popular at the time. The planting at Princess Park appears to have been carefully staged, with the western end planted first. The plant materials selected were in keeping with the fashion of the day, as promoted by

15 the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens. They included Stone Pine (Pinus pinea), Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), Sugar Gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) and Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla). It is interesting to note that the indigenous scrub of the town common was not cleared until the new trees were sufficiently mature to assume prominence. Upon scrub clearing, the next stage of the planting was implemented in a style similar to that of the earlier sections, although changing fashions resulted in the strengthening of the Monterey Cypress theme. By the 1900s assorted conifers, including Norfolk Island Pines, Stone Pines and Cypresses are visible in early photographs of the area, although the avenue of cypress that now dominates the east side of Gellibrand Street is not. Between 1900 and 1920 the amenity of the parkland was improved with the addition of the bandstand (built by Mr Golightly) and the planting of the aforementioned avenue of Cypress. Norfolk Island Pine was also included at this stage. The plant materials present between Symonds Street and Wharf Street suggest that this area was developed at the same time. With the inclusion of an irrigation system these park trees grew vigorously in their first fifty years and the common was rapidly transformed into a well vegetated parkland. In the 1920’s irrigation was ceased and as a result some trees declined in condition, especially the Moreton Bay …

Neither park has undergone any major structural change in its development… Permanent reservation of Victoria Park for the purposes of Public Gardens was gazetted in 1868 following a temporary reservation in 1865. This was achieved as a direct result of the Borough Council at the time approaching the minister for Lands and Survey seeking such a reservation. Plans for laying out the reserve and for fencing were accomplished by the Borough Surveyor in 1867. Photographs of Queenscliff taken in the 1860s show that the town had largely been cleared except for the Botanical Gardens. On 4 October 1867, Council noted that advice had been received from Dr. Mueller on planting and preserving the reserve and on 8 April it was reported that Dr Mueller had visited the borough to advise on planting. Advice on planting and conserving the reserve was sought and received from Baron von Mueller who had visited the gardens. Trees and shrubs were received from the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, then under the Directorship of von Mueller. Daniel Bunce, the Director of the Geelong Botanic Gardens was also consulted on planting. The Geelong Advertiser reported on November 24th 1876 ‐ “The gardens are under the constant care of a labourer, and form a nice, shady retreat for ladies and children, and also for invalids. A report on the gardens in 1876/7 noted that a large portion of the area had been “preserved in its natural state but the rest is laid out and tastefully planted”. A maze was also planted, an illustration of which appears in Queenscliffe! How to See It, along with the above description. The gardens must have also contained a fernery during the 1880s as it was reported in the ‘Queenscliff Sentinel’ in 1886 that it would be advantageous to pipe water from the bowling green to the gardens to aid the growth of ferns. Photographs of the gardens illustrate a bushy environment with gravel or crushed limestone paths wandering through a mixture of coastal vegetation and selected trees with rough cut grass. There does not appear to be any detailed layout of formal garden beds, but rather an informal environment formed by shrubs and medium size trees.” This detailed report indicates the importance of Queenscliff’s foreshore to tourism, an important driver of the development of the Borough to this day.

The expansion of Fort Queenscliff’s heritage listed area to incorporate Shortland’s Bluff is a logical step in protecting a site that has such solid universal heritage values. In the past few years there has been discussion about the option of pursuing a “Greater Port Phillip Heads National Park” which would form the basis of a move towards World Heritage listing. There is strong potential for Fort Queenscliff/Shortland’s Bluff together with Point Nepean and Point Lonsdale to be assessed for World Heritage classification as they have linked attributes relating to Australia’s cultural heritage. The criteria for World Heritage listing is readily applicable to the three history‐laden headlands at the entry to Port Phillip Bay as they comprise:

16 “groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history”

The map above readily demonstrates the strong historic ties between Fort Queenscliff/Shortland’s Bluff, Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean which incorporates the shared heritage and environmental values of:  military defences  navigational aids  shipping and trade  aboriginal settlement  early white settlement  ship wrecks  natural environment  biodiversity  immigration and health

The spectacular outlook from the Queenscliff headland demonstrates outstanding scenic landscape values and the diversity of seascapes which has made the area a tourist and artist drawcard for generations. The scenic environs includes a sweeping 270o view encompassing Bass Strait, The Rip and Port Phillip Bay with their frequently changing ocean conditions.

Attributes ‐ Distinctive structures, including the lighthouses, seaward fortification wall and keep, plus the Fort's prominent location, and unimpeded view from the water and to Point Nepean, The Heads and Point Lonsdale.

17  Criterion F ‐ Technical achievement

The Commonwealth Heritage Register states the Fort’s mass unreinforced concrete and exposed and rendered brick vaulting of the seaward defences are on a scale rarely seen elsewhere. Linked to the seaward earthworks rampart embankment is the ditch immediately to the south which then runs through to the open area or ‘glacis’ of Shortland’s Bluff. This layout is based on conventional fort design as shown in the adjoining drawing by James & Stotz.

A ‘glacis’ is an earth slope angled away from the ditch. The height and angle of the glacis was calculated to protect the rampart from direct fire but to allow the defenders to fire over it.

There was considerable mathematics applied to the calculation of the appropriate glacis slope for each fortification. The adjoining example is taken from the 1842 book ‘A Course of Mathematics: Principally designed for the use of students in the East India’s Military Seminary at Addiscombe’ by the Reverend Jonathon Cape A.M. Such mathematics is evident in the angle of glacis slope which can be seen on Shortland’s Bluff. The image below shows the western ditch (or moat) being dug.

The objective of fortification design was not only to enable long range defence but to protect the fort from close attack. It was essential to prevent attackers finding shelter and ensuring they remained exposed to rifle fire from the parapet as shown in the drawing below taken from Dennis Mahan’s 1852 book ‘A Treatise on Field Fortifications’.

In an article ‘The optional, but useful, Glacis’ Craig Swain states: “What Mahan said is that if bullets fired on a line from behind the Parapet would strike at a point beyond outer crest of the ditch, then it offered an uncovered space in front of the works i.e. a “shallow” angle between E and K. That is depicted with the red line on the diagram above. Such was a serious flaw the defender wished to avoid. However, if the line of fire offered a steep angle, that implied the defender had to raise up too much over the parapet (the blue line on the diagram). And thus the Banquette was too high and needlessly exposed the defenders. Oh, and also any artillery place on the Banquette might not depress to engage the enemy. The “just right” zone for this line offered an angle in which bullets fell directly on the crest of the Counterscarp, or just three feet below it. That ensured the enemy was not granted a place to gain a foothold, short of the Ditch.

Furthermore, while in the Ditch the enemy could not engage the men on the Parapet. If set “just right” the Ditch would become a place where the enemy could only pause to contemplate just how precarious the situation was (and perhaps start waving white flags). But nature rarely offers the engineer a “just right” . So often there was a need to adjust nature to achieve that “just right” angle. And the Glacis was that adjustment.”

18 On Shortland’s Bluff, the calculation of the glacis is estimated at 2.8m from the lip of the ditch to the level area at the White lighthouse. There is only one parcel of land beneath the seaward facing embankment where it is possible to see the design intent of the glacis.

The construction of the Fort occurred in an extended period when there was a perceived risk of invasion.

Consequently, the area around the Fort was cleared of vegetation to ensure line‐of‐sight firing was not impeded – see adjacent photo of the Queenscliff Garrison taken by ‘The Argus’.

19

The operational necessity of a cleared landscape is also shown in the detail of a photo by Fred Kruger in 1880 which shows the southerly view of Shortland’s Bluff over the glacis. As noted previously, with the increased risk of invasion, the lighthouse keepers quarters were relocated inside the Fort for security.

Since that time, the risk of invasion tapered away and the nature of warfare evolved so that ‘line‐of‐sight’ shooting diminished as a critical aspect of the Fort’s defences. As a result, dense vegetation has been allowed to grow around the Fort leaving only the one area uncleared where it is possible to get a full appreciation of the glacis and it is understood there are few examples of Australia terrestrial forts and their surrounds which remain uncompromised.

The safe entry of shipping into Port Phillip was of critical importance to ensure the effective operation of the Victorian colony in support of the Empire. Historically it should be recognized that from 1850, Melbourne and Geelong rapidly grew in importance to Great Britain, hence the need to provide both defence and safe navigation. The control of the Heads remained strategically important from the up to WW2, also noting Melbourne was the seat of Government from 1901 to 1927 when the capital was formalized in Canberra.

The need to establish navigational marks and lines for ships was recognized in the “Report from the Select Committee on the Harbours of Melbourne and Geelong together with the Proceedings of the Committee and Minutes of Evidence” published January 1853. This Report identified that lights at both Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff were required “so as to mark the fair way.”

Attributes: Defence: The quality of masonry construction in the wall, the scale of the seaward defences and the southern glacis. As Louise Honman wrote:

“The interpretation of the coastal defences of Port Phillip Bay has historically been as part of global historical forces, and the structures have been understood as engineering feats based on the tradition of British military 20 engineering. An understanding of the whole network of defences is important for the interpretation of their roles in the defending of Port Phillip Bay. In the past this has tended to be less important than the interpretation of each particular fortification, as if it is more important to understand the particular structure one is looking at, than why it is there. The fortifications of Port Phillip Bay are part of a larger cultural landscape stretching around the shores from Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff, through the city of Melbourne to Point Nepean. The geography of the bay is an important component of the defences and adds a scenic dimension to them. The fortifications of Port Phillip Bay need to be understood and interpreted as part of a network, not just as isolated engineering structures.“

Maritime: Underpinning the siting of the three lighthouses at Port Phillip Heads was the extensive marine surveying undertaken on behalf of the Admiralty by Lieutenants T.M. Symonds and H.R. Henry of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, 1836, followed by Commander J.C. Wickham and Captain Stokes of HMS Beagle in 1842 and Mr. C.J. Polkinghorne, Master. R.N. in 1856.

In the 1860s advanced scientific and technological methods were applied to calculating the safest way into Port Phillip Bay. This put Shortland’s Bluff and the Fort at the forefront of the golden age of the construction of lighthouses around the Australian coast. It followed a similar stage of lighthouse construction in Great Britain driven by the expanding requirement to make commercial and passenger shipping safer.

The White and Black lighthouses used the latest Chance Brothers components from Great Britain. From 1851, Chance Brothers became a major lighthouse engineering company, producing high quality optical components, machinery, and other equipment for lighthouses around the world. Chance Brothers pioneered placing lighthouse lamps inside a cage surrounded by Fresnel lenses to increase the available light output which revolutionised lighthouse design.

The chart above is the product of Victorian‐era technology which is still in use today. The chart shows the ‘Great Ship Channel’ and other key navigational lines through ‘The Rip’. As noted above, many ships and small boats remain fully reliant on the navigational aids on Shortland’s Bluff which reinforces the need to maintain the site in its current uncluttered state to reduce ambiguity which may be caused by glare and flare from new buildings.

The Shortland’s Bluff precinct is also of archaeological significance for its potential to reveal significant artefactual remains pertaining to the use of the place as a lightstation, signal station and defence infrastructure. Parts of the site may have a high archaeological potential given it has been intensively used for defence and maritime purposes since 1840. The site’s buildings, engineering relics and other structures can demonstrate, within their fabric, examples of the evolution of construction technology, available materials and adaptation to suit local conditions during wartime.

The Victorian Heritage Register notes the Queenscliff Pier is of technical and architectural significance as a unique example of a substantially intact nineteenth century pier structure (all bar the plank decking is intact). The pier has

21 significance as an intact archaeological example of nineteenth century pier technology and its associated undisturbed deposits of relics buried under prograded land. The inner section of the pier was buried quite early in its working life, and therefore presents a unique example of a substantially intact and buried nineteenth century pier. The pier varies in its construction techniques from other piers of similar vintage in both its outlay design, its unique plank road approach, and its probable (as yet investigated) more robust construction methods (when compared with other more sheltered piers in Port Phillip Bay). No plans for the earliest phases of the pier's construction have been located and therefore this pier's archaeological structure may provide the only extant undisturbed example of construction methods used for 1850s/60s piers.

 Criterion G ‐ Social value The town of Queenscliff has developed with the Fort and the complex is of considerable social value to the local community. Further, as the Australian Staff College for more than fifty years, the place is of strong social significance to numerous army officers who trained at the college. The recent centenary celebration of ANZAC has greatly increased the understanding and appreciation of Australian military history and Shortland’s Bluff has become the focal point for the community to commemorate ANZAC Day. A recent letter by Mr Paul Clydesdale to the local paper articulates the special position of Position of Shortland’s Bluff:

“In Queenscliff at pre‐dawn each ANZAC day a growing number of people of all ages walk quietly by torchlight up Hesse Street to Shortland's Bluff, gathering beneath the lighthouse which stands sentinel over the scene. They are welcomed in the semi‐darkness with a feeling of open space and reverential silence, broken only by the sound of waves breaking. As the service proceeds it is easy for them to imagine a similar landfall overseas where so many lives were lost or altered forever.”

Attributes ‐ The Fort, Shortland’s Bluff and environs.

 Criterion H ‐ Significant people Fort Queenscliff and Shortland’s Bluff are significant for their association with leading military planners of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These key people would not have recognized any arbitrary demarcation between Fort Queenscliff and Shortland’s Bluff as both sites were functionally intertwined for the purposes of defence and navigation and would have been regarded as one area.

As was noted above, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Scratchley and Major General Sir William Jervois advised on Queenscliff's design and travelled the Australian colonies assisting with fortifications elsewhere.

Another well‐known Army officer linked with the artillery defence of Port Phillip Heads was Major‐General Sir John Monash. Monash joined the Metropolitan Brigade of the Garrison Artillery which was engaged in port defence. He became a specialist in and was promoted to Captain in 1895 then became the commanding officer of in 1897. The left‐hand photograph below shows members of a Fort Queenscliff gun crew overlooking the entry to Port Phillip Bay and according to the Australian War Memorial, the soldier at the left holding the chart is John Monash. The right‐hand photograph shows Fort Queenscliff garrison personnel on parade at Fort Queenscliff ‐ Captain Monash is shown mounted at the left end of the front row.

22 Monash’s biographer, Geoffrey Serle, saw the period at Queenscliff and Point Nepean as crucial to his success as commander of Australian Forces in World War 1. Monash’s outstanding ability resulted in him assisting with the visit of Lord Kitchener.

Following an earlier invitation by Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin, Field Marshal Viscount Kitchener visited Australia in 1909 to inspect the existing state of defence preparedness, and advise on the best means of providing Australia with land defence. Deakin, by then Minister for Defence, accompanied Kitchener to Queenscliff before departing to his own house at Point Lonsdale. Kitchener, stayed in Queenscliff at ‘Hopewell’, the holiday home of Sir Simon Fraser (the father of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser). Due to Kitchener’s interest in terrestrial defences, a firing display was undertaken by artillery in the Queenscliff and Point Nepean forts at targets towed through the Heads. Kitchener’s assessment of Queenscliff’s defences was favourable and the summary of his wide‐ ranging tour was incorporated into his 1910 “Report on the Defence of Australia”. This report strongly recommended Australia boost its Citizen Forces through a universal compulsory military training program, which commenced in January 1911 and ran until 1929.

In April 1914 the Queenscliff Fort defences were activated again as part of the visit by the British Inspector‐General of Overseas Forces, General Sir Ian Hamilton. Hamilton was aware of the evolution of warfare and the role of new fighting techniques. He visited Queenscliff to inspect defence operations, including artillery and searchlights, with the steamer ‘Mars’ attempting unsuccessfully to run through the nine searchlights at the Heads. Hamilton’s career was effectively terminated by the failure of the Gallipoli campaign for which he was the on‐scene commander. Eventually his capacity came under scrutiny, partly because of complaints circulated by Keith Murdoch, then a correspondent for ‘The Australian’ newspaper.

VC winner, Lieutenant William Joynt (photograph right), commanded the 3rd Garrison Battalion at Queenscliff in the early 1940s. Joynt won his VC due to his actions on 23 August 1918, when an attack near Herleville was pinned down, with heavy losses, by intense fire from Plateau Wood, Joynt rallied the attackers and led an advance that cleared the wood’s approaches, then captured it and over eighty prisoners in a bayonet charge. For his ‘most conspicuous bravery’ he was awarded the .

In terms of aesthetics of the Queenscliff Headland, it was noted above that the prominent Victorian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller undertook work to the parkland to the north of the Fort. However, around Shortland Bluff the renowned Geelong born and Victorian architect Percy Everett (who was associated with some of Melbourne's most inventive and most notable art deco architecture) designed a landscape plan for Shortland's Bluff Lighthouse precinct not long after winning an award to revamp Geelong's Johnstone Park civic gardens. Everett began his architectural career in Geelong gaining experience with Geelong architect W. H. Cleverdon and then became the first architecture student to enrol in the Gordon Technical College. Everett studied under the dynamic leadership of George R. King, who established the architectural section at the College before graduating in 1906. He worked at the Geelong Harbour Trust from 1907‐1910 designing a woolstore and the Sailors Rest on the Geelong foreshore. He then worked for the firm of Seeley & King, forming a partnership with them two years later. Seeley, King & Everett was his first private practice. It was taken over by the firm of Laird and Buchan just prior to the War. During 1914 Everett went abroad to

23 England and Europe. A shortage of architectural work during the war years saw him take up the principal position of Brunswick Technical School. In 1915 the Geelong Council decided to hold a competition for designs to improve and beautify Johnstone Park. Percy Everett and Buchan & Laird produced the design. In 1934 Everett was appointed chief architect in the Victorian Public Works Department. During 1917 the Billy Hughes government instituted, via the Defence Department, legislation for Repatriation grants that included Soldier Settlements and made a series of Repatriation grants to employ returned soldiers. Queenscliff Council received a 'windfall' amount of 749 pounds under the Scheme and in March 1919, councillors were discussing with Everett plans to implement the grant to improve the foreshore below the Fort and lighthouse. In late March Percy Everett who was principal of Brunswick Technical School at the time made a series of recommendations in the vicinity of the Fort and the Lighthouse to construct winding paths over the bank, plant it in grass, add seating, level and create an Amphitheatre and generally beautify the area. Part of the concept was to replicate the frontage of Johnstone Park to Railway Terrace in Geelong. Mayor Thwaites commended the idea as “a comprehensive one for the improvement of the front beach” and would “comply admirably with the conditions of the grant.” A week later the Council, were to discuss the plans and expected “that there will be considerable modifications” it appears due to budgetary issues. In the Geelong Advertiser report of April 14 1919, Council stated “the scheme is most elaborate and would absorb about three or four times the amount of the £749 grant”. At the special meeting of council, it was resolved to implement 7 projects including those associated with Cliffe Pathways and Roadway Hesse St South. It is possible the Bullring at Ocean View was part of the Repatriation works. In August of that year name plates in the Avenue of Honour were also to be proceeded with and the ordering of cypress trees to form hedges around conveniences were also proposed. Council at the time boasted names such as Mayor Thwaites, Councillors Golightly and Duddy. With the end of the War announced in 1918 a stream of local soldiers returned ‐ some shattered by the experience. Names such as the two Rae boys, three Hewitson brothers, Dusting, Thwaites, Giddey and Hutchins amongst others returned by rail to be meet by the Mayor, a Welcome Home Committee and the band playing 'Home Sweet Home'. It is uncertain how many returned soldiers worked on the Grant projects but the program elevates the importance of Shortland's Bluff as a significant local war memorial and important open space.

Queenscliff (and Point Lonsdale) was involved in the introduction of a major technical innovation for Australia – the first ship‐to‐shore wireless transmission. In April 1901, Henry Jenvey, Chief Electrical Engineer with the Victorian PMG Department, conducted a series of test transmissions between two suburban locations in the city of Melbourne. Jenvey designed and constructed his own wireless equipment for transmission and reception. These units were installed at Red Bluff St. Kilda and Point Cook, a distance of 20 miles across the waters of Port Phillip Bay. According to newspaper reports in Australia and New Zealand at the time, these preliminary wireless transmission tests were successful. In May 1901, the Duke and Duchess of York travelled to Melbourne to participate in federation activities associated with the Plaque commemorating the Jenvey transmission formation of the Commonwealth of Australia (Melbourne outside Fort Queenscliff was the seat of Government from 1901 to 1927 when the capital was formalized in Canberra). The importance of the occasion was such that Jenvey obtained Government approval and encouragement to send a wireless message welcoming the Duke and Duchess. The print media followed the story closely in the lead up to Sunday May 5 1901 when the Royal Navy ships were due to enter The Heads. On May 5, 1901, Jenvey was to transmit a welcome from Lord Hopetoun (the newly appointed Governor‐General of Australia). A message was sent to the wireless operators on board the two escort vessels, St. George and Juno some 17 miles off shore. The transmission was deemed successful in retrospect because, while a message was received, the naval staff had not been briefed to expect it. It appears that without the appropriate naval code, the message may not have been passed on to the Orphir by semaphore (the Royal boat did not have the requisite telegraphy equipment). Jenvey was able to confirm that a message had been received when he consulted with officers from the ships in Melbourne. Newspaper reports stated Jenvey broadcast from Point Lonsdale but there is uncertainty whether this is correct even though Jenvey’s equipment in the Museums Victoria collection indicates Point Lonsdale was the site. Additionally, the Queenscliff Historic Museum has a brief record of the event by George Stevens whose grandfather, G.F.W. Stevens, was the Senior Assistant Light Keeper at the Point Lonsdale lighthouse at the time. Mr Stevens grandfather described how Jenvey set up his equipment at Point Lonsdale and transmitted to HMS St George.

24 (QHM Doc 1524). However, some newspapers reported the transmission took place from Queenscliff, while others stated the transmission occurred from Queenscliffe (the spelling of the local government area of which Point Lonsdale is part). Additionally, a plaque is installed outside the Queenscliff Fort which commemorates the Jenvey transmission as occurring near the Black Lighthouse within the Fort (see image to right). It is possible this plaque relied on some newspaper reports leading up to the transmission which indicated Queenscliff would be the site. Further research on this is needed.

Attributes ‐ Aspects of the Queenscliff Foreshore Reserve and Shortland’s Bluff relating to the aesthetic designs by Baron von Mueller and Percy Everett. Queenscliff Fort and Shortland’s Bluff that reflect the input of Scratchley and Jervois, operational reviews by Lord Kitchener and General Hamilton, and the legacy of renowned military staff who were stationed there. Jenvey’s ground‐breaking shore‐to‐ship transmission. Anecdotally there are reports of Wathaurung middens in the nominated area and a full survey of the area is recommended as part of National Heritage assessment.

Q12a. Describe the place

The Queenscliff Headland site comprises to the north, two jetties constructed off open community parkland. To the south is the Commonwealth heritage listed Queenscliff Fort and then abutting the south side of the Fort is Shortland’s Bluff which contains three navigational aids and numerous concrete military structures in various states of repair.

Q12b. What condition is the place in? For example, is there any existing or imminent damage?

The Shortland Bluff area to the south of Fort Queenscliff is in a poor state with regard to the preservation of its heritage assets. The glacis is heavily overgrown with the exception of one portion which is open following the demolition of various maritime‐related buildings in 2011. The various concrete defence emplacements are suffering from spalling concrete and no preservation works have been undertaken.

The Queenscliff Foreshore Reserve to the north of Fort Queenscliff is in reasonable condition although many of the heritage structures have been removed post WW2. The design intent of the parklands have been rationalized with little reference to of the work by Baron von Mueller in determining a maintenance regime. The Queenscliff Pier and Pilots’ jetty are structurally sound although the lifeboat shed is deteriorating noticeably.

Q13. Summarise the place's history (origins and development) in relation to the claimed values/proposed criteria.

Archaeological studies have revealed a long occupation by Aboriginal communities before European discovery and occupation The first recorded mapping and maritime information on Shortland Bluff dates from 1804. However white occupation is said to have dated from 1803 with the escape of William Buckley‐ the wild white man who the joined local aboriginal tribe.

In 1837 Governor Bourke recognized the advantages of Shortland Bluff/Queenscliff promontory as a pilot station. The new Governor (La Trobe) recommended a lighthouse be built at Shortland Bluff (Noble 1979:42; Raison, 1997:1‐2). The first lighthouse was built in 1842 and was operational in 1843. Prior to 1844, there was a clear need for a lighthouse to be constructed at the Heads to stem the occurrence of shipwrecks there (Thetis and Princess Royal). Only 750 square miles had been surveyed in Port Phillip Bay at that time, and the dangers of the Rip were recognized as the effects of the tidal and geological features. The advantages of a lighthouse at Shortland Bluff were touted over the Points Lonsdale and Nepean.

This fact underlies the cultural heritage importance of the lighthouses at Shortland Bluff. The site and township of Queenscliff has been occupied by Europeans since 1843 when the pilot station was first established. Commencing operations in 1843, the original sandstone lighthouse at Shortland Bluff served as the primary means of navigation into Port Phillip Bay until 1854 when a secondary, red and black painted timber tower (having since been relocated to Point Lonsdale and later dismantled) was erected near the former in order to best demonstrate an alignment of approach for incoming vessels. It was evident in 1849 Latrobe and others were concerned with the position and

25 visibility of the original light that was obscured from sea in part by Point Nepean. By the 1850ʼs and the bestowing of self‐government on Victoria the shipping channel into Port Phillip Bay was unfolding important histories.

According to an early newspaper report “Port Phillip Heads is becoming rather an interesting locality, from continuous arrival and departure of vessels, and it will of course become much more so, when the extra lighthouse is erected, the electric telegraph at work, to say nothing about the quarantine station. Of course, we shall have to erect two guardian fortresses, bristling with cannon, but no such item appears in the estimates.” (Geelong Advertiser 12/11/1852:2).

The Gold Rush period led to enormous increase in shipping and immigration. By 1856, the threat of shipwrecks in Bass Strait had become so acute that a Joint Commission of the Colonial Governments of Victoria, Tasmania, NSW and South Australia was formed to deliberate the adequacy of existing lights and the possible installation of further facilities. The Commission recommended construction of new lights along the Victorian coast (including Cape Schank, Gellibrand Point lightship, and Shortland Bluff leading lights.

In 1861, tenders were called for the erection of two new lighthouses on Shortland Bluff. By 1863, a notice had been issued concerning the alteration of lights at Shortland Bluff (GA1/1/1863:2). The new lights stood on a line 106 ft to the west of the old lights, and mariners needed assurance that the new leads presented the safest course for deep water vessels through the Rip. The lower lighthouse was painted white to distinguish it from the upper one, which retained its natural black bluestone colour. The Black Lighthouse is the only unpainted lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere and one of only a handful in the world. This presents a unique heritage structure of international importance. The black lighthouse was built to replace the earlier sandstone 1843 lighthouse that was under powered and the tower had structurally deteriorated. The white lighthouse at Queenscliff was built in 1862 ‐1863 to replace an earlier wooden lighthouse erected in 1853. It is built of the same bluestone that was used to build the Black Lighthouse but was painted white to distinguish it in daylight. The two structures were built within a similar time period and have a unique relationship.

The discovery of gold in various Victorian towns and subsequent defence measures also resulted in the strategic placement of fortifications at Queenscliff and across the Heads. The first foreign threats to the Port Phillip settlement were perceived during the Crimean War (1853‐1856). In 1859 a commission recommended the Heads be fortified and permanent battery established. The Crimean War (1853–56) stimulated public concern over Victoria's defences, and after protracted discussions, reports and inquiries, Captain (later General Sir) Peter Scratchley of the arrived in Victoria in 1859 to advise on the development of the Colony's coastal defences. Together with William Jervois the design of Fort Queenscliff was undertaken and completed by the 1880s. By design Fort Queenscliff became the command centre for the Heads defences and played important parts in both World Wars. The Fort is a superb example of the defences that existed around the coastline of Australia from colonial times through to the end of the Second World War. The escarpment and glacis overlooking Shortlands Bluff is an important design element that continues to this day.

Q14. Provide references to support the information you have provided.

Research documents Maritime Archaeology and Maritime Cultural Landscapes of Queenscliffe: A nineteenth Century Coastal Town. Thesis by Dr. Brad Duncan, B.SocSci (Hons) James Cooke University, October 2006. ARC Sea Change, Sea Change communities intergeneration perception and sense of place, Dr Ursula de Jong Dr Robert Fuller and Dr David Beynon, Deaking University, 2016. PDF of oral presentation of this report forward with accompanying emails. Full and extensive research work of the Deakin Sea Change research (referenced above), available through Dr. Ursula de Jong, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong. Queenscliff Urban Conservation Study, 1982, Prepared for Ministry of Planning in conjunction with the Brough of Queenscliffe, Allom, Novell and Assoc., Architects, ISBN‐0‐7241‐6098‐1 327 pages. Not available digitally Several copies available Queenscliff Historical Museum and Queenscliff Borough Council offices. Parks and Reserves in the Borough of Queenscliff. Stories and history behind the public spaces, parks, and reserves. Research and Author ‐ Diana Sawyer (Volunteer) ‐ 2014/2015. Available in PDF and hard back copy from Queenscliff History Museum.

Books and periodicals

26 Austin, K., on the Victorian Coast,April/May 1802. Select Documents, Cypress Books, Melbourne, 1974. Baillieu, Darren., “The First of the Port Phillip Pilots”, Dog Watch No 28, 1971 pp 50 ‐ 71. Billis, R.V. and Kenyon, A.S. Pastoral Pioneers of Port Phillip, Stockland Press, Melbourne, 1974. Bognuda, J and Morehad, L M., Gateway to Port Phillip Bay, Jolo Studio, Devon Meadows, 1980. Brough‐Smyth, R,, The Aborigines of Victoria, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1878. Brown, P L St Mark’s on the Hill, Kensington, Leopold, May 1959 Burchell, L, Victorian Schools, a Study i Colonial Government Architecture 1838 ‐ 1900. Melbourne University Press, 190. Connor, Michal, The Land Boomrs, Melbourne University Press 1966. Church of St George the Martyr, Queenscliff 1934 reprint. Encylopaedia of Victoria Dod (H C DOD) “Early Memories of Queenscliff”. 1931 (Based on articles written in the 1920s by Dod for the Geelong Advertiser. N A Dunn, “A History of Point Lonsdale, Hawthorn Press, 1949. As it applies in references to Queenscliffe. Evans, W P “Through the Rip, Ships and Seamen of Old Port Phillip, Rigby, Melbourne 1978. Geelong Regional Commission “Queenscliff Overview Study, 1981. Hamilton, Anne, James Clow, A Memoir, Ramsey Publishing, Melborne, 1937. Mills, H C Church of Holy Trinity Queenscliff, 1981. Noble, Captain, J Port Phillip Pilots and Defences, Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, 1973 Our Century 1862 ‐ 1962, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Queenscliff, Brownhill Printers, Geelong 1962, Phillips, J Romance of Australian Lighthouses, Rigby, Adelaide, 1977 Sutherland, A Victoria and its Metropolis Past and Present, McCarron Bird and Col, Melbourne, 1888 Ward, A Railway Station Buildings in Victoria, McMillan, South Melbourne, 1982.

Manuscripts Baillieu Collection of Abstracts from newspapers and Government Records relating to Queenscliffe. Extensive newspaper references available on Trove. Tate, Jim, A History of Fort Queenscliff, 1988. A soldier's five minutes on the Fort: A concise history of Fort Queenscliff, Fort Queenscliff Museum, 1982. Fort Queenscliff museum: Victoria's premier coastal fortress, Fort Queenscliff Museum. Fort Queenscliff Museum: Guide book, Fort Queenscliff Museum, King Street, Queenscliff, Victoria 3225. Conservation management plan for the Command and Staff College, Fort Queenscliff, Volumes 1 & 11, Melbourne, Allan Lovell & Associates, 1982. Follows, Barrie; Defence at Point Nepean: a History of Defence at the Nepean Peninsula, Victoria Australia 1802‐1997, Sorrento Historical Society, c 1997. Gill, G. Herman; Australia in the war of 1939‐45, Series 2, Volume 1, Royal Australian Navy 1939‐42, Canberra, Australian War Memorial, 1957. Gill, G. Herman; Australia in the war of 1939‐45, Series 2, Volume 11, Royal Australian Navy 1939‐42, Canberra, Australian War Memorial, 1968. Jose, A.W; Official in the war of 1914‐18. Volume IX, the Royal Australian Navy, , Angus & Robertson, 1940. Loney, J; the Sea War in Bass Straight, Portarlington, Marine history publications, 1993. Noble, J; Port Phillip Pilots and Defences, Melbourne, Hawthorn Press, 1973. Bonwick, J; Port Phillip settlement, Samson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington. London 1883. Prosten, G; Historical record of Queenscliff Borough 1863‐1933, Peninsular Beacon, Queenscliff, 1933. The Encyclopaedia of Victoria: An Historical Review, descriptive and biological, facts, figures and illustrations, etc., James Smith (ed), The Encyclopaedia publishers, Melbourne and , 1905. Noble, Captain J; Port Phillip Panorama, Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, 1975. Bognuda, Joan & Moorhead, Leslie W; Gateway to Port Phillip, Wilte & Company, Clayton, Victoria, For Jolbo studio, 1980. Kerr, Colin & Margaret; Port Phillip Bay, Rigby, 1979. Turner, H.G; A history of the colony of Victoria. From its discovery to its absorption into the commonwealth, Longmans Green & Company, London, 1904. Armament Establishment, Detail of Equipment for Forts at Port Phillip Heads, Garrison Service, NAA:B73656, 12094 1892/644A, National Archives of Australia. Drawings and plans of fortress installations ‐ Port Phillip Defences, NAA:MP338/1, National Archives of Australia.

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