Smiths Hill Fort was a fort at North Wollongong, New South Wales

North Wollongong, New South Wales

North Wollongong is the immediate northern coastal suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. North Wollongong is used to refer to the northern area of Wollongong as well as North Wollongong by locals, despite the official suburb not including the northern apartment areas of Wollongong and...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The fort was also known as Wollongong Fort.

History

Built between 1891-1893 to provide a deterrent to a possible Russian attack upon Wollongong Harbour

Wollongong Harbour

The Wollongong HarbourTo the east of the Wollongong lies Flagstaff Point, a rocky headland with eroded low cliffs topped by a grassy hill.The northern side of the point was excavated by convict labour to form Belmore Basin, and later extended with the northern breakwater to create Wollongong Harbour...

.

The fort is a concealed battery on high ground above Wollongong Harbour with underground rooms for supplies, ammunition and shelter with emplacements for three 80-pound cannons on iron carriages.

It was used extensively for company training and maintained by the Wollongong-Bulli Half Company.

In 1946, the fort was filled with rubble and dirt. The fort was dug out and restored in 1988 and two cannons were restored and reinstalled at the fort.