Cantonment Hill, Fremantle - History

History

In 1892 it was gifted by the Crown to the City of Fremantle in perpetuity "for the purposes of a public garden".

The Artllery Barracks in Burt Street were built on the site between 1910 and 1913 for Royal Australian Garrison Artillery, who manned the coastal defence batteries at Fort Arthur Head and Fort Forrest (North Fremantle). During World War I the site was used as a rehabilitation hospital for injured soldiers returning from the Western Front and later as an internment camp and as a quarantine station.

During World War II further development at the site was undertaken, including construction of a tunnel network to an underground control room, and a large warehouse on the north-eastern side. This latter bears Navy insignia and the motto non sibi sed patriƦ.

By the early 1950s, the property ceased to be used as military barracks but remained under Defence control. The artillery barracks buildings were used from 1948 onwards as a training venue for the Army Reserve and in 1995 the Army Museum of Western Australia moved to the site, where they currently remain. The barracks are the oldest continuously occupied defence site in Western Australia.

The Port of Fremantle constructed the existing signal station (pictured) in 1956.

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