The Little Fort, Sydney Harbour

The Little Battery

The headland at Mrs Macquarie’s Point also had strategic value in the early defence of Sydney Harbour. The first example of its military use was a response to the fears of foreign invasion during the Crimean War (1853-1856). 

Little Fort at Mrs Macquarie’s Point with HMS Liverpool facing Garden Island c. 1870
National Library of Australia.

In 1856 Mrs Macquarie’s Point was equipped with a ‘masked battery’ of ten artillery pieces. These were mostly naval type cannons arranged above and behind Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. The battery was composed of a rammed earth and concrete defilade (wall) fitted with embrasures.

It was commonly referred to as ‘the little fort’, usually in association with Mrs Macquarie’s Point. 

The following excerpt from the Sydney Morning Herald (Friday 13 May 1859) describes the state of inner harbour defence was like at the time, including a description of this fort:

We have now to call attention to the most picturesque fort of the whole, namely, that at Macquarie Point, near Lady Macquarie's Chair. It is on the northern extremity of the promontory dividing Woolloomooloo Bay from Farm Cove, is east of Fort Macquarie 750 yards, south of Fort Denison 666 yards, south-west of Bradley's Head 2525 yards. The work consists of a masked earth work battery, flanked with mason work of great strength, and mounting eight thirty-two pounders, on garrison carriages. On each flank there is a circular work of masonry, mounting two 10-inch mortars on travelling platforms. In connection with this fort there is a magazine for 100 barrels of powder ; and the battery is faced by a dry moat. It covers Fort Denison front and rear, and also affords a direct fire on Bradley's Head. Three contractors took part in the erection of this fortification, namely, Mr. Donovon, Messrs. Carlisle and Goddard, and latterly Mr. Goddard alone, who is now just completing the ditch.

From: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13024891

By the early 1870s, the concern over foreign invasion had all but dissipated. The guns were removed and the emplacement buried. An archaeological excavation and subsequent report were undertaken in 1989 on the Masked Battery, after which it was promptly buried again to preserve the site.

Of interest, this is the broader view of Garden Island from Mrs Macquarie's point where the Little Fort was located, in 1877. I was fortunate to live on the left hand most landmass for about 6 years (it became attached to the mainland with the construction of the Dry Dock during WW2).