History Of Macquarie Watchtower

Title

History Of Macquarie Watchtower

Artist

Miroslava Jurcik

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Today the official name is Macquarie Watchtower and its great high point on land to watch over Botany Bay, Sydney, Australia, but the history is much more interesting.
Constructed c.1822 as a watchtower to house ‘in lieu of huts’ a small detachment of troops assigned to watch the Bay for smugglers and misguided vessels. (Kass 1989:15 Sydney Gazette, 22 March 1822) It is assumed that the reference to ‘misguided’ vessels is mainly to foreign incursions. The tower fulfilled this role until 1826. During that time the troops appropriated the garden established by Lapérouse in 1788.
The building appears to have been abandoned from 1826 when the troops left until 1829 when initial works were carried out so that it could function as accommodation for a caretaker, who would oversee the recently erected La Perouse monuments. However, in 1831 the Customs Department acquired the La Perouse stone tower to be one of a string of its coastal customs out-stations. It required significant repairs to accommodate the staff comprising a Tide-waiter and two Boatmen.
In 1903 the Customs Station was transferred
to the Commonwealth Government, who passed it on, to the Department of Internal Affairs in 1904 and it became are tirement home at least initially for former Customs Officers and it housed a succession of at least 6 tenants up to 1950. In 1950 the tower site was reserved and placed under the care of the La Perouse Monuments Trust, who installed a resident caretaker. On October 1, 1957 a fire gutted the building and caused the death of Mary Donnelly, the caretaker’s wife.
After the fire, the decision was taken to ‘clean up’ the site and reveal the original tower form. The 1961 Lands
Department reconstruction work on the tower was intended to match as closely as possible its 1820s form, except for blocking up the windows to prevent vandalism. The form of the crenulations was conjectural and subject to some dispute. (See Figure 11. of this inventory for what are thought to be the original crenulations, replaced by the pitched roof at some time between 1850 and c.1864.) The Trust also erected the low coping wall around the tower and used the building as a tool and boat store. Work comprised refacing exterior stone work; removal and replacement of stones, with the new stones set in cement based mortar; restoration of the doorway, construction of a concrete slab roof; laying of a reinforced concrete slab floor to threshold level & installation of a brass explanatory dedication above the doorway.
NPWS acquired the site in 1967. Rising damp has been an ongoing issue within the building and was subject to several works programs in 2006. Its main recent use has been as a landmark and for storage of cast iron gates thought to have been used on Bare Island

reference and more detailed read and also historical photos : https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/vol3inventorysheets/Vol301Watchtower2.pdf

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October 31st, 2020

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