1 The Custodian Summer/Autumn 2017/2018 Volume 1, Issue 12 FORT LYTTON HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION Welcome to the Twelfth Edition of “The Custodian”. Don’t forget to have a look every now and then at our Website as it is continually updated. Inside there are a couple of Newspaper articles updating our information and a couple from other contributors. Harry Lynas (Editor) FORT LYTTON HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED DIRECTORY President: Dr. Mike McLean PO Box 293 WYNNUM QLD 4178 Hon Secretary: Mr. Harry Lynas Or contact via email addresses: Hon Treasurer: Mr. Peter Gore [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Mr. Harry Lynas [email protected] [email protected] Web Site: http://www.fortlytton.org.au FORT LYTTON MAIN EVENTS 64 Pounder Gun and 6 Pounder Cannon Firings – Australian Heritage Festival 2018 – Sunday 22nd April 2018 (Quarantine Station Open) Wednesday 25th April (ANZAC Day Tours) Sunday 6th May 2018 (Quarantine Station Open, Industrial Era Re-enactors) History Alive 2018 – Saturday and Sunday 9th & 10th June 2018 (Quarantine Station Open) Sunday 5th August 2018 2 Brisbane Open House 2018 – Saturday and Sunday 6th & 7th October 22018 (Quarantine Station Open) Remembrance/Armistice Day 100 years Centenary – Sunday 11th November 2018 (Program TBC) Sunday 2nd December 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Page 1 Introduction and Directory Page 2 President’s Report Page 3 Army Signal Station at Fort Lytton – circa 1958/1959 Page 4 First Firing of the 64 Pounder Guns at Fort Lytton Page 5 Last Firing of the 6 Inch Disappearing Guns at Fort Lytton Page 7 Signal Hill/Reformatory Hill Colonial Fort Page 10 ‘A’ Battery’s 2018 Report Page 11 Re-enactment in Brisbane is not New Page 12 Engine Room Doors Page 16 FLHA Matters PRESIDENT’S REPORT Fort Lytton National Park’s offering to the people of Queensland and Australia continues to improve and expand, and Fort Lytton Historical Association is a key contributor, operating the Visitor Centre, Canteen, four museum buildings, the historic fort and the gun park, in addition to providing free guided tours, and, of course, continually undertaking research and building new exhibits. We are now very optimistic that Queensland Military Historical Society (formerly Victoria Barracks Historical Society) will begin relocating to the National Park this year, including its extensive military museum. This will significantly increase the National Park’s critical mass as “Queensland’s Foremost Military Exhibit” and we are already closely cooperating with QMHS. We are also continually increasing our cooperation with other Park “operators” such as Queensland Living History Federation and History Alive: A Journey Through Time. Our joint offerings continually get bigger and better. Many readers might be unaware that Fort Lytton National Park contains two independent heritage-listed adjacent properties, namely, the historic Military Fort of 1881 to 1945 and Lytton Quarantine Station which operated from 1912 to 1987. Fort Lytton Historical Association succeeded in opening four key Quarantine buildings for the first time for two days in 2016, followed by four days in 2017 and six days in 2018. We have set up a Quarantine team of guides and researchers who are working to turn the Quarantine Station into a major exhibit in the same way as our predecessors worked to create the military exhibit we have today. One of our major activities in the last year has been the development of an exhibit called “Fort Lytton’s ANZAC Generals” which describes 10 of Fort Lytton’s soldiers who went on to become generals in the First World War. The information is presented on a 32 inch touch screen display. Our research disclosed many interesting findings, such as: 3 • In 1906 a Fort Lytton ANZAC General, then a Captain, was the first Australian officer ever selected to attend the British Army Staff College. • In 1912 a Fort Lytton ANZAC General became Quartermaster General of the Australian Army. • In 1913 a Fort Lytton Anzac General became Adjutant General of the Australian Army. • In 1917 a Fort Lytton ANZAC General on horseback led the Light Horse troops in the first stage of the famous Charge of Beersheba, one of the greatest cavalry-style charges in military history. • In 1918 a Fort Lytton ANZAC General commanded over 1000 heavy guns, the most for any Australian officer ever. • Between 1923 and 1930 only three officers were appointed Chief of the General Staff (head of the army). They were all Fort Lytton ANZAC Generals. • In 1927 a Fort Lytton ANZAC General became Minister for Defence. • At the start of the Second World War a Fort Lytton ANZAC General was appointed Chief of the General Staff, while another was appointed Quartermaster General Ubique Mike McLean, President ARMY SIGNAL STATION AT FORT LYTTON circa 1958/1959 By Don Willsher (Commanding Officer) The Station was operated by Northern Command Intercommunication Troop – Royal Australian Signals Corp. Because it was a small unit, it came under 401 Signal Regiment, a CMF unit at Kelvin Grove, for some administration such as ‘Q’ and Pay. The unit was in two Sections – Operators at the Signal Centre in Victoria Barracks and the Technical Staff based at Lytton. The OC in that period was 2Lt Don Willsher and some of the staff were – WO2 Don Midgley as Foreman of Signals (Chief Technician), SGT Doug Gilshenan, CPL Ken Walsh, CPL Alan Bradbury, and SIG Andy Milton as Driver. In addition there was a Storeman and also a civilian Caretaker, a retired sailor named Jack Walsh, who lived in the old house on Signal Hill. In the Signals Office were - WO2 Allen Turner as the Chief Operator, SGT Joe Balmer, Senior Operator Keyboard and Cypher (OKC), a CPL OKC, two AWAS OKCs and a Teletype Technician SIG Perc Rawlins. The role of the unit was to provide communications between Northern Command HQ in Brisbane at Victoria Barracks and Army HQ at Melbourne, Cabarlah and DSB – Melbourne, Northern Command HQ and Jungle Training Centre at Canungra. Secondary role included provision of Civil Emergency comms, comms for the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race, for which the Army Water Transport Squadron (based at Kangaroo Point) provided the command vessel – a Fairmile. Comms between Victoria Barracks and Lytton was provided by Very High Frequency (VHF) radio link, backed up by landline, over which several channels of voice or teletype were available. Comms to Melbourne was provided by a High Frequency (HF) Radio Teletype circuit and to Cabarlah and Canungra by landline. Civil Emergency and Yacht Race comms 4 were handled by the station supported by a mobile radio van on a GMC truck. Signals to other units, eg Townsville CMF were sent using normal PMG facilities. Signals to other Commands (States) went through Melbourne. At some time in 1960, I think, the Station was closed and moved to Redbank Plains. The land was handed over to AMPOL Oil Company to enable their refinery to be built. The Refinery was built on flat ground, on which the receiving aerials were erected (Pictured above left) and the transmitting aerial (Pictured on next Page) was located on the Wynnum side of Signal Hill. Another aerial was facing basically North for Civil Emergency use. For the Yacht Race the shipboard radio was low powered and so, to enable the information to reach Lytton, the mobile radio van and generator was used as a relay station. Unfortunately, the site chosen for the van just happened to be in the yard of the Pialba Hotel at Hervey Bay. Consequently, by about 11 am, the transmissions were highly garbled as hotel patrons insisted on supplying the operators with jugs of beer. During my time as OC I was approached by civilians seeking permission to spread relative’s ashes on the site, as their parents had been stationed at Fort Lytton during World War 1, when the area was used as a remount depot for the Light Horse. Caretaker Jack Walsh, being ex-Navy, took note of Naval ship movements into and out of Brisbane. He would lower the National Flag to half-mast, as a Salute, when they entered or left the port. This gesture was often remarked on when officers from those ships were entertained at Command HQ, Victoria Barracks 30 foot Aerial Erecting Aerials 5 FIRST FIRING OF THE 64 POUNDER GUNS AT FORT LYTTON (by Harry Lynas and Newspaper Correspondents) While researching our Centenary Of ANZAC project we came upon various newspaper articles pertaining to events here at Fort Lytton and here is one of the first instalments. These articles will also make us update our information as of course they are correct as to when and where. Shown below is the article from Trove and where amended we will type in Italics. Article taken out of Report on the Encampment printed in the Brisbane Courier of Monday, 18th April 1881 Considerable interest was manifested in the preparations for bringing the two new 64-pounders into practice. These huge weapons had been mounted on their navy carriages-- heavy wooden structures, with small wheels in a single block--and awaited on platforms, sloped at an angle to counteract the recoil, the time when they were to hurl shells at a target which had been placed on the edge of the long mangrove flat. This square white target was 2500 yards distant, and stood out in the water apparently about 150 yards from the edge of the bank. At about 4 o'clock the order was given to fire one round, and the spectators watched curiously the operation of loading. First one man brought a small bucket with a lid to it containing the charge of powder, 10lb. of the explosive being enclosed in a bag.