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AUSTRALIA'S FIRST COLONIAL FORT DISCOVERED

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AUSTRALIA'S FIRST COLONIAL FORT DISCOVERED

21st October 2008
Ms Caitlin Allen
Archaeologist, NSW Government Architect's Office
NSW Government Architect's Office

email

http://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2008/national/fort-phillip-dig/index.html

In 1804 work began on Fort Phillip on the site of the present day Sydney Observatory. The construction of the hexagonal plan fort with walls metres thick was abandoned in 1806. Governor Philip Gidley King had commissioned the fort in an effort to mitigate the expected uprising of Irish republicans. Ms Caitlin Allen and Casey & Lowe Pty Ltd have unearthed the remains of a bomb-proof shelter (likely used for storing gunpowder), curved sandstone blocks - indicating a domed roof, a flagstone floor from a small building and iron shot possibly from the magazine. A public talk will be delivered at the site on November 2 as part of the Historic Houses Trust Sydney Open Day. See URL for shots of the excavation.