leighton battery (Above): The command (Below): Troops working on post at Leighton Battery, the construction of an During the Second World War, the coastal camouflaged by netting artillery store at Leighton in 1943. Battery, 1943. defence system for the port of Fremantle Image courtesy of Australian Image courtesy of Australian War included gun batteries at Rottnest Island, War Memorial 029136 Memorial 029024 Swanbourne, Arthur’s Head, Cape Peron and Garden Island. In 1942 the 6-inch guns at Arthur’s Head were moved to this site as Leighton Battery. Below ground, over 300 metres of tunnels were excavated to house ammunition, technical equipment, rest areas, communications and observation posts. For the rest of the war, servicemen and women monitored the movement of ships in and out of Fremantle Harbour. An anti-aircraft battery was also located nearby. In 1945, the two 6-inch guns were replaced by three more modern 5.25-inch gun and the tunnels were closed. The new guns remained operational after the war for training National Servicemen and the Construction of a parapet Army Reserve. In the early 1960s, however, to the No. B2 gun position technological advances in air power and at Leighton Battery, 1943. Image courtesy of Australian weaponry made coastal defences War Memorial 029136 ineffective. Three years later, the guns at Leighton were sold as scrap. When the adjacent area was developed for housing, the tunnels were reopened by the Royal Australian Artillery Historical Society. Details on how to tour the site can be found at http://www.artillerywa.org. au/raahs/leighton.htm.