| Photographs: | |
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| List: | Register of the National Estate |
| Class: | Historic |
| Legal Status: | Registered (21/03/1978) |
| Place ID: | 2871 |
| Place File No: | 1/13/026/0003 |
| Statement of Significance: |
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The Officers' Mess is one of a number of places that are part of the larger Middle Head-Georges Heights defence site (see Register No.102619). The site is historically significant as the location of major defence works for Sydney Harbour and Port Jackson during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Officers' Mess, which was constructed as Artillery Gunners Barracks in 1873, is associated with the development of the Georges Heights-Middle Head fortifications in the 1870s. The site was developed after a New South Wales defence committee decided to implement a two-line defence system in response to the withdrawal of the last British troops in 1870. The building continued to be used to accommodate military personnel during the twentieth century. (Criterion A.4) (Australian Historic Theme 7.7 Defending Australia) The Officers' Mess is a particularly good example of a late-nineteenth century fortified building. Constructed of sandstone, it has a distinctive loopholed wall for defensive purposes and is linked by tunnels to an adjacent battery. The design of the building, and its location in the vicinity of the battery, demonstrates nineteenth century defence practices. Although the building's interior has been modernised, it continues to illustrate the living conditions for garrison troops at this time. (Criteria D.2) The Officers' Mess, as part of the larger Middle Head-Georges Heights area, has social significance for the Sydney community, and for past and present defence personnel. (Criterion G.1) The Officers' Mess has added significance as an example of the work of Colonial Architect, James Barnet. (Criterion H.1) |
| Official Values: Not Available |
| Description: |
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Background The Officers' Mess is one of a number of places that are part of the larger Middle Head-Georges Heights defence site (see Register No.102619). The site is historically significant as the location of major defence works for Sydney Harbour and Port Jackson during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. History The Middle Head-Georges Heights defence site is of major significance in the story of the defence of Sydney Harbour and has been closely associated with the defence of Sydney since the 1870s. Defence preparations began very early in the nineteenth century. In 1801 a battery was constructed at Georges Head; however, it was soon abandoned. In the 1840s two lines of defence for Sydney Harbour were proposed, an inner and an outer line, and with the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1853 works were begun, including batteries at Middle Head as part of the outer line. But Governor of New South Wales, Sir William Denison, changed these plans, with renewed emphasis on the inner line, closer to Sydney. In 1862 a British committee recommended that self-governing colonies should provide for their own defence, and in 1870 the last British regimental troops left NSW. A NSW Defence Committee recommended that the two line system should be proceeded with, and it was planned that the outer line would include Georges Heights and Middle Head. Work started in 1871, with improved road access, two batteries at Middle Head and two at Georges Head. Various garrison buildings (sandstone and also weatherboard) were erected. These works were designed by NSW Colonial Architect James Barnet, with input from the Corps of Engineers. Late in the 1870s British military experts Sir William Jervois and Lieutenant Colonel Peter Scratchley advised on the reorganisation of the Australian colonies' defences, with the result that substantial development was undertaken at the Middle Head-Georges Heights site. Improvements in weaponry and other technology saw still more changes; meanwhile the Submarine Mining Corps was developed at adjacent Chowder Bay. In 1889, amid controversy, Colonel F.R.de Wolski replaced James Barnet as designer of Sydney's defensive works. Electricity and telephone were connected to the site. Following Federation and the Commonwealth's assumption of responsibility for defence, another set of new guns was installed. With the outbreak of the First World War, the defences at the site were mobilized, but no action was seen. The main activity was the construction of a major military hospital at Georges Heights, in 1916, to deal with casualties from overseas. By mid 1918, as the No.21 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, the complex was the third largest military hospital in Australia. It operated until 1923, after which the buildings were used as accommodation for various army units. During the inter-war years, new technology saw new units and weapons introduced at the site. Then in the Second World War, harbour defences were upgraded and put on full alert following Japan's entry into the war. The penetration of Sydney Harbour by Japanese submarines was the first and only time that enemy forces have raided the harbour. By 1944 activity at the site was being scaled down. The post-war years saw older style port defence systems made obsolete, and the batteries were dismantled in the 1950s. Middle Head-Georges Heights now became a training area with barracks facilities. In the 1970s large areas of bushland were dedicated as part of the Sydney Harbour National Park. An overseas training school (subsequently the AusAid Centre for Pacific Development and Training) was housed on the site. With further rationalisation of defence facilities, by the late 1990s very little of the site remained occupied and in 2001 the site was earmarked for entry into the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust. The building currently known as the Officers' Mess was designed in 1870 by the Colonial Architect, James Barnet. It was built in 1872-74, and was the last military building to be constructed entirely of stone in Sydney. It was extended in circa 1891, to the design of Lieutenant Colonel F R de Wolski. The Officers' Mess was originally used as barracks for the Artillery troops who manned the guns at Battery A84. It later became part of the Submarine Mining Depot and then accommodated the Royal Engineers between 1922 and 1944, before being damaged by a bushfire. It was restored in 1956 and used as an Officers' Mess by the WRAAC. Physical Description The building is constructed of sandstone, with a slate roof and a loopholed wall on the harbour side. The date of construction, 1873, is carved on a keystone above the gate. It has an elongated U-shape with a central sandstone-flagged courtyard, and there is a two-storey wing to the north and one-storey wings to the south and west. The second storey of the north wing was added in about 1891 to the design of Lieutenant Colonel F R de Wolski. It is a very fine example of a late nineteenth century fortified building, and is linked by tunnels to the adjacent Battery A84. |
| History: Not Available |
| Condition and Integrity: |
| The interior has been modernised. (2001) |
| Location: |
| Located at the end of Suakin Drive, Georges Heights. |
| Bibliography: |
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Design 5 Architects, 1996.
"A83, A84, B42, & C9a Batteries and Tunnels, Georges Heights, Sydney" Conservation Management Plan.
Department of Defence.
NEGP Report.
Godden Mackay Logan, "Georges Heights and Middle Head Defence Site Heritage Assessment (Draft)", 2 vols, prepared for the Department of Defence, December 1998. |
Report Produced: Tue Feb 9 23:14:18 2010