WWII Tunnels I recently went to the WWII Tunnels here at Buckland Hill, Leighton, W Australia. See link below for history of the Tunnels. http://www.artillerywa.org.au/RAAHS/Leighton.htm The damage to the walls in pic 10s was caused by the SAS conducting live fire exercises in the tunnels and is on all intersections. Pic 9 is inside observation post. Cheers Paul
Nice pictures (Especially of the arty) and looks a interesting place. Not sure about the firearms damage though-Someone pulling ya leg by chance ? Regards Andy
Andy, Just repeating what the guide was told by Sir Michael Jefferey who was in SAS. The tunnels were vacant for years after the war. Cheers Paul
The SAS did do a lot of training in disused buildings and facilities. Maj Gen Jeffries (former Governor General of Australia) should know, he was ex SAS. The SAS also did training in the old Government office buildings in Canberra Spider
I grew up in Mosman Park in the 70s and the Leighton tunnels were off-limits as there was an army transport unit located above them. There was no development near the tunnels. Kids from school used to break into them and talk about them being used as a storage facility. Much of the tunnels was lost on redevelopment and some tunnels are apparently "lost". When the army vacated the place the tunnels were going to be destroyed but it never happened. It would have been great if they could all have been saved as it was an extensive complex. The artillery based there was part of a much larger complex with emplacements on Rottnest Island, Swanbourne and Woodman's Point forming a massive defensive triangle to defend Fremantle. The most extensive remains are on Rottnest Island but the wingnuts in charge of our heritage are simply letting it decay as part of some sort of return to nature b/s. Anecdotally older residents would talk about windows shattering when the guns were test-fired. How true this is I don't know.
Interesting Paul, where the defenses ever put to the test. Did the Japanese ever try to assult fremantle with anything bigger than a midget submarine? Kev
