Fortress Observation Post, Mt Herschel, Wadjemup/Rottnest Island

Parent Place or Precinct

03650 Wadjemup/Rottnest Island

Values

The place is associated with the WWII occupation of Wadjemup/Rottnest Island by Defence forces. The FOP was an active component in the operation of not only Fortress Command on the island, but is also associated with the Fremantle Fortress chain of coastal defences.

Physical Description

The Mt Herschel Fortress Observation Post is a one room, single storey building of reinforced concrete construction, with a flat cantilevered roof and observation windows on three sides. Archival data notes that these buildings were originally painted in a light green tone for camouflage purposes, however the current finish of the FOP is an ochre, orange tone more in keeping with the finish of cottages through the Thomson Bay settlement mall. The building is of simple concrete construction with a flat roof which projects on three sides to shelter the observation windows below. Entry to the structure is from the southern frontage, with horizontal observation windows at eye level on each of the east, west and northern facades. While originally open to the elements, fixed panel windows have been retrofit into the structure at some point in the past and are currently metal framed with obscured safety glazing. The contemporary windows provide no visual connection between the internal and external space, impacting upon any ability to understand its original functionality as an observation post. A variety of contemporary telecommunications infrastructure and signal antennae have been affixed to the roof of the FOP, with one such mast puncturing through the centre of the roof structure to affix to the internal floor below. While archival sources also note that the subject place was once fitted with steel window shutters, no evidence of this fabric remained at the time of inspection. Internally, the building is rendered and painted white to both walls and ceiling. The internal space is utilitarian in nature with no notable detailing or features. The room appears to be largely utilised for the storage of equipment related to the contemporary antennae structures affixed to the roof.

History

The Fire Command system on Rottnest Island comprised nine buildings, the Battery Observation Posts at Signal Ridge and Bickley, the Command Post at Oliver Hill, and four Fortress Observation Posts located at Bare Hill, Tree Hill, Mt Herschell [subject site] and Cape Vlaming. Throughout the war, all the gun batteries in the Fremantle Fortress, including Wadjemup, Fremantle and Garden Island, were controlled from the Battery Observation Post/Fortress Fire Command building, located at Signal Ridge. Information and cross bearings were transmitted via underground cables running from the FOPs across the island to the Battery Plotting Rooms at the Batteries and the Fire Command Post. The purpose of Fortress Observation Post, Mt Herschel Wadjemup/Rottnest Island, and the other FOPs located on vantage points, was to relay observations and target information to the Fire Commander in the Fortress Plotting Rooms, to allow coordination of the Batteries across the Fortress precinct. Each comprised a single story reinforced concrete utilitarian building, with one area utilised as a living area, and the other for storage and equipment. None of the guns on Wadjemup/Rottnest Island ever fired a shot in anger throughout WWII. A shift in focus saw a decline in Australia’s involvement in the Pacific in 1944, and operational duties on the island ceased in late 1944/early 1945.

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