Lieutenant Colonel W.J. Foxall (Rtd.)

Bill Foxall’s comments below reflect his experience working on Middle Head while serving in the Australian Army and as an interested party with concerns over the military heritage of Sydney.  Middle Head is a key feature of that heritage. 

“In over 30 years as an officer in the Australian Regular Army I served in many locations throughout Australia and overseas including South Vietnam in 1970-71, Singapore 1971-73 and the USA 1979-81.  I was a member of the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA).  I commanded 102 Field Battery in 1981-82 and 4th Field Regiment RAA in 1988-89.  

The final three years of my service were as a staff officer at Headquarters Training Command which, at that time, was located in the old World War 1 Convalescent Hospital buildings at Georges Heights on Middle Head in Mosman NSW.  Training Command was responsible for the individual training of all officers and soldiers in the Army and developed systems and policies for the various Army schools and training centres for which it was responsible.  My appointment involved the management and coordination of training in Australia and overseas.  It was interesting, diverse and at times challenging.  Apart from my work, what I remember most about my final posting is the natural beauty and historical significance of the area in which my colleagues and I worked at Middle Head.  It is clearly one of Sydney’s great treasures and it is essential that it be protected and preserved for future generations.  

There is no other place in Sydney that contains as much evidence of the social and military history of Australia as Middle Head.

Historically, Middle Head has had an ongoing and permanent military presence since at least 1810.  This presence covered most of the significant events in Australia’s military and social history.  Among others, the initial settlement and efforts to protect that settlement, the establishment of NSW Defence forces following the departure of the last British Army unit in 1870, Federation, World Wars 1 and 2, Korea, the Malayan Emergency, the Cold War and Vietnam are examples.  Middle Head played a part in all these events and soldiers trained on Middle Head before proceeding to them all.  Today, it provides a ready and easily accessed educational and tourist attraction where descendants of those soldiers can walk and learn about their forefathers’ lives and service.  Middle Head should be developed into a living museum available to all Australians and international visitors.

In my time Middle Head was a bustling military village.  In addition to HQ Training Command at Georges Heights, numerous other Regular and Reserve units occupied Middle Head. 10 Terminal Regiment occupied the lower part of Middle Head, and the Army Maritime School was located at Chowder Bay.  2nd Commando Company was located by Rawson Oval, and the Navy had, and continues to have, an important presence on Middle Head.  At other times other units including the School of Military Intelligence and 1st Field Regiment RAA occupied the facilities.  Training activities were carried on daily just as it had since the early 1800s.  Spread throughout the area there were many married quarters for service personnel and accommodation barracks for live-in soldiers. These added to the military village feel of the area.  

For the most part the village remains today, and the remnants provide an invaluable insight into the life and work of an Australian soldier in the defence of Australia.  It should be noted that there are no similar military villages left in Australia.  For this reason, it must be retained in its entirety.

My own interest in military history, and in particular the defence of Sydney Harbour, began after I was commissioned in June 1968 and while attending a course at the School of Artillery on North Head.  My time at Middle Head allowed me to consolidate what I had learned and also to learn a great deal more.  I was able to visit all the various forts and gun positions across the whole of Middle Head regularly and to gain an appreciation of the difficulties and technicalities of their construction and how it was supposed to work. No matter where one ran at lunchtime or walked between buildings a remnant of the earlier defence works could be found.  Many of these are now derelict or have disappeared but those remaining should be treasured. 

The opportunity to make these forts and associated buildings available to all to show how generations of soldiers sought to defend the harbour and how they lived should not be lost.  To this end, whatever work is necessary to stop the current neglect and maintain and preserve the forts and buildings across the whole of Middle Head should be undertaken.  Many could be adapted for further use.  The three wooden barrack blocks built in 1951 to accommodate the soldiers of the newly formed 1 Field Regiment RAA, the first Artillery regiment formed after the establishment of the Australian Regular Army in 1948, are a good and feasible example.  In my time they were occupied by soldiers from 10 Terminal Regiment but when constructed, they represented some of the most modern barracks in Australia. This fact, and their link to 1st Field Regiment RAA, make them historically significant and worth repurposing.  They are now in a sad state, but sensible and practical repurposing will prevent their loss.

Since leaving the Army in 1998, I have continued my involvement with and interest in the defence of Sydney and its Harbour.  This has included an ongoing involvement with Middle Head and a concern for its preservation.  Additionally, I was for many years a volunteer tour guide at the RAA Museum at North Head.  As a guide I took groups of visitors through the Museum, the gun and tunnel system on North Head and provided a detailed description of the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney Harbour on 29 May 1942.  While the RAA Museum is no longer on North Head I have continued on occasion to conduct tours at North Head when requested.  An outcome of my tour guide experience was a request in 2004 from the Chief Instructor of the School of Artillery in Puckapunyal for me to conduct a historical tour of the defences of Sydney Harbour for the recent Artillery graduates from the Royal Military College who were currently undertaking their Basic Artillery Officers Course.  

The one-day tour I developed covered the defence of Sydney and included some insights into the RAA history and heritage.  It started with a tour of Victoria Barracks in Sydney, progressed to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair to look at the various early inner harbour defences, then to Georges Heights/Middle Head to see the extensive outer harbour gun and tunnel systems and discuss the Japanese submarine attack and finally to North Head.  

The highlight of the tour was, and remains, the time spent on Middle Head where all the outer harbour defences from 1810 onwards were covered as well as the Japanese submarine attack of May 1942.  Everything on Middle Head is relevant to the defence of Sydney Harbour.  The tour was an outstanding success and that success clearly indicates the military significance of the Middle Head and its value to any military or social historian.  Its value as a resource for school children and teachers to enhance their understanding of Australia’s history is obvious.  Of interest these tours for the School of Artillery continue to this day.  I have also conducted them for civilian organisations and other interested parties. 

My interest in the history of the RAA and Middle Head continues through my involvement as a director of the Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company and the Headland Protection Group. While my comments above result from my experiences covering my time serving on Middle Head, I am aware that my concerns in relation to the neglect and inappropriate development are reflected by many of my colleagues in both these organisations.

I believe that rather than demolishing further buildings the Trust should rethink and adapt and protect the buildings and historical infrastructure remaining on Middle Head.  In doing so it will have the opportunity to transform Middle Head and create a hands-on tourist, education and research centre where our children and other visitors can walk through this living museum and experience a significant part of our history.”