Leighton Battery

Author

National Trust of Western Australia

Place Number

03247

Location

Cnr Stirling Hwy & Boundary Rd Mosman Park

Location Details

INCLUDES: cpmplex of underground tunnels, rooms & observation post, semi buried command post, 2 x 6 inch gun emplacements, 2 x 5.25 inch gun emplacements (one buried), radar hut, access road, limestone retaining walls, and surrounding public open space

Other Name(s)

Buckland Hill Tunnels
Citizen Military Force Training Battery

Local Government

Mosman Park

Region

Metropolitan

Construction Date

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type Status Date Documents
Heritage List Adopted 02 Sep 2014
State Register Registered 27 Aug 1999 HCWebsite.Listing+ListingDocument, HCWebsite.Listing+ListingDocument

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type Status Date Grading/Management
Category
Register of the National Estate Registered 22 Jun 1993
Classified by the National Trust Classified 13 May 1996
Aboriginal Heritage Sites Register Recorded
Municipal Inventory Adopted 24 Mar 1998 Category 1

Statement of Significance

Buckland Hill affords a panoramic view encompassing the surrounding suburbs and a superb vantage over the Indian Ocean, Rottnest and the other islands surrounding Fremantle Harbour and Gage Roads. This one hill is all that remains of a range of seven hills (known as the Seven Sisters) which have all been quarried out of existence It has importance as an open space and as a break between the urban and industrial development along Stirling Highway and emphasises Fremantle as a separate identity from Perth. The Leighton Battery was the only battery using 5.25 inch dual role Coast Artillery/Air Defence weapons to come into service. It remained in service post-war until 1963. It is now one of the only two 5.25 inch battery locations remaining relatively intact in the world. Buckland Hill is the only site in the Perth region with connections which go back to both the earliest English settlers and the Dutch visits to the coast of Australia. The site was once considered important as a capital for the new colony before another site was chosen closer to the mouth of the Swan River. Buckland Hill forms a natural boundary between Mosman Park and Fremantle, and is one of the highest points in the Perth metropolitan area.

Physical Description

The primary built feature of the site is a series of tunnels within the hill. These tunnels were to serve the 6 inch gun battery. The tunnels are brick lined and timber roofed, except where fires started by vandals have destroyed roof timbers. Visible evidence of the tunnels is provided by ventilator shafts and brick and concrete entrance structures. Two 6 inch gun positions are also visible and are similarly constructed of red brick and concrete. All of the above surface features associated with the 6 inch gun positions are either built into slopes or rise less than three feet above ground surface. One 5.25 inch gun pit has been excavated and another remains buried. The third was destroyed during preparation of the housing estate development. The gun pits are of poured concrete and lie flush with the surface. Also associated with the 5.25 inch gun battery is a reinforced concrete command post. This building is set into the earth at the rear of the site extending between 4 and 5 feet above surface level. A square brick structure, designated the Radar Hut is partly concealed in vegetation at the summit of the hill. This structure was used to support a Fremantle Port Authority beacon which has since been relocated to another site. Limestone retaining walls associated with the adjoining housing development, have been utilised to provide walkways and terraces on the site. Both surface and sub-surface structures are suitable venues for interpretive displays. The hill area lies in the coastal belt of Tamala limestone and the soils are Cottesloe Association overlying the Spearwood Dune system. The naturally occurring plant species are typical of those found in the coastal limestone habitat but with a lower species count and less mature specimens probably due to fire. Also absent is the tuart which was mentioned in archival sources as being present east of the hill. Good stretches of native heath are found on the western slope of the hill. The hills are typically yellow to brown, fine to coarse leached sands with much exposed limestone. Pinnacles of limestone frequently extend up into the sand. The sands are primarily derived from the weathering process of limestone. Prevailing south westerly winds have stripped these slopes of much soil. Commonly observed reptiles are the Blue-tongued Skink and the Dugite. The Spiny Tailed Gecko has also been reported. Populations are depleted due to depredations of domestic cats. The most frequently observed birds are the Turtle Dove, Brown Honeyeater, Red Wattle-bird, Australian Magpie and Black shouldered Kite. The existence of native vegetation in extensive areas and the open space presents the opportunity for education and interpretive functions, which will increase with rehabilitation.

History

Assessment 1996 Construction 1942-45 Builder: Australian Army On Saturday 5 January 1697, Commander Willem de Vlamingh landed on a beach somewhere near the mouth of the Swan River. He then; “climbed up on the high ground” . Most commentators pick Buckland Hill as the site of this high. ground. On 8 March 1827, Captain James Stirling explored the same area and named the hill after William Buckland, FRS, then a Reader in Geologv at Oxford University: Buckland was later Dean of Westminster. Stirling recommended the hill as an excellent site for the first capital of the Swan River Colony. However, on his second expedition in 1829, he chose the Arthur Head site in Fremantle. Beginning in the 1890’s the topography of the area was greatly changed by quarrying operations. Buckland Hill is all that remains of a. range of seven hills known as the Seven Sisters. Buckland Hill came into the ownership of the University of Western Australia as part of its original foundation endowment. During W.W. I, Buckland Hill was a naval signal station known as “Port War”. Defence planners decided against using Buckland Hill as an alternative location for the Fort Forrest guns when they were relocated from North Fremantle in the early 1930s. However in WW II, plans were put in place to relocate two 6 inch guns from Fort Arthur’s Head to Buckland Hill. Work commenced in the summer of 1942 and the guns were operational in February 1943 under the designation of the Leighton Battery. The threat from air attack instead of naval bombardment prompted the replacement of the two 6 inch guns with a battery of three 5.25 inch dual role coast artillery/air defence weapons. Of the numerous sites planned and initiated in Australia for this type of weapon, the Leighton Battery was the only one to become operational. The battery remained in operational and training use with the regular army and later the reserves until 1963 when the weapons were sold for scrap. It is one of two remaining 5.25 inch battery locations in the world.

State Heritage Office library entries

Library Id Title Medium Year Of Publication
11922 Leighton Battery Interpretation plan Heritage Study {Other} 2015
11779 Buckland Hill Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2020

Place Type

Historic Site

Uses

Epoch General Specific
Original Use MILITARY Fort or Gun Emplacement
Present Use EDUCATIONAL Museum
Other Use MILITARY Other
Present Use SOCIAL\RECREATIONAL Other

Architectural Styles

Style
Other Style

Construction Materials

Type General Specific
Wall BRICK Common Brick
Other CONCRETE Other Concrete
Other TIMBER Other Timber

Historic Themes

General Specific
OUTSIDE INFLUENCES World Wars & other wars
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES Sport, recreation & entertainment
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES Education & science
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES Community services & utilities

Creation Date

18 Sep 1992

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

26 May 2025

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.