Fort Bribie
Skirmish Battery was located in the township of Woorim during
WW2. The gun emplacements were at the beach end of Fourth Avenue and the huts
were along North Street. Included
in its vicinity was the Royal Australian Navy's "Indicator Loop Control
Station" RAN 4 up at 8th Avenue. The northern Fort Observation Post (FOP) shown below is
the only surviving element of Skirmish Battery (apart from a concrete foundation
post on the beach
8 km south belonging to the southern BOP of Skirmish Battery, and some electricity
cable in the garden of a house at Fourth Avenue). The original Skirmish Battery was first set
up in March 1942 about 2 miles south of Woorim for the purposes of maintaining
signals contact with Fort Cowan Cowan on Moreton Island. They did this by
heliograph during the day and Aldis lamp at night. It was manned by soldiers
from Fort Bribie and consisted of 1 corporal, 2 signallers and 7 privates.
A more permanent fort was built later in 1942 at Woorim. The battery became operational
in late 1942 under the command of Major Greet. It had two 6" field artillery
guns from the USA which were mounted on Panama Mounts.
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| Woorim Beach
today - where Skirmish Battery was in WW2 |
Fort Observation Post - Skirmish Battery - 2006. |
Fort Observation Post - Skirmish Battery. This structure used to sit on
high timber stumps but these were burnt out. It now sits on its side on the
beach 4.7 km north of the RAN 4 Loop Station. It measures 4.8m wide, 3.0m deep
and 3.0 m high (when in correct position). GPS co-ordinates: S27°01.270'
E153°10.636'.
No. 1 Gun
Materials required for building the No. 1 gun included 18.5 tons of steel
reinforcement (₤740), 494 cu. yds of 4:2:1 concrete ( ₤7410), excavation of 630
cu. yds. of sand (₤126) and doors, windows, shutters and louvres (₤250) making a
total cost, including 10% contingencies, of ₤9378. Prices quoted were as
at October 1942.
No. 2 Gun
Materials required for building the No. 2 gun included 20.25 tons of steel
reinforcement (₤810), 557 cu. yds of 4:2:1 concrete ( ₤8355), excavation of 954
cu. yds. of sand (₤191) and doors, windows, shutters and louvres (₤250) making a
total cost, including 10% contingencies, of ₤10566. Both prices included
magazines at each gun.
Command Post, Fort Observation Posts (2), Plotting Room and Reserve
Magazines came to a total of ₤5500.
PHOTOS FROM 1968
The three colour photos below of the Fort Skirmish Gun Emplacements were
taken in 1968 by Norm Broughton - a sergeant in the AIF 2nd Australian Jungle
Trunk Line Maintenance Section during WW2 - who brought his family to Bribie on
holidays. The emplacements were demolished by the council a couple of years
after these photos were taken. Photos supplied by Mark Broughton.
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| Number 1 and Number 2 Gun Emplacements -
1968. These were adjacent to Fourth Avenue, Woorim, Bribie Island. |
13 year-old Mark Broughton at the doorway of
a gun emplacement in 1968. |
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| Mrs Vivienne Broughton and 11-year old
daughter Julie in front of the northern emplacement in 1968. The shell
elevator housing is clearly visible on top. |
The No. 1 Gun Emplacement suffers in the
regular storm surges on Woorim Beach in the 1950s. |
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The Southern (No. 1) Gun emplacement -
1950s |
Pigface (Carpobrotus Glaucescenes) now
grows on the dunes where the guns once were. Photo 2007. |
Drawing of the gun emplacements (from memory) by Mark Broughton, 10 June
2008
