Port Stephens played a vital role in World War II.
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Because of its proximity to Newcastle's port and steelworks as well as its relative isolation, the Port Stephens area was identified as a defence hub and evidence of the area's war effort that is still evident to this day.
From December 1939 army personnel were stationed around Raymond Terrace for training.
The Commonwealth government purchased land in Williamtown in early 1940 and established a Royal Australian Air Force base to defend the northern approaches to Newcastle and Sydney at a time of increasing threat.
From 1941 the new Williamtown RAAF Base brought more servicemen and construction workers into the area.
A walk up Tomaree Head in Shoal Bay will take you to the gun emplacements that remain, and while the guns that sat atop them never fired upon an enemy, they were crucial in protecting the area's shoreline from Japanese invasion.
Fort Tomaree, a heavy battery artillery fort part-way up the headland, was built in 1941.
It included guns, mortars, rifle pits, a search light station, torpedo tubes and barracks that accommodated the 500 army, navy and air force personnel that served there.
The same year, a radar station was erected on the summit by the RAAF to detect enemy shipping and monitor flight movements with a 120-kilometre range.
It is understood to be the longest serving RAAF radar in WWII, operating until 1947.
Today only remnants of its mount remain.
The only visible remains of the Tomaree battery today are the large concrete gun emplacements, observation posts and command posts.
At the water's edge a jetty was built to hold two torpedo tubes - a last defence against enemy shipping.
Two other gun emplacements housed three pounder guns known as the 'surf battery' to provide defence against fast moving vessels.
For more than 80 years these reinforced concrete structures have survived the wear of salt spray and curious visitors.
Most of the fort's buildings and guns have been removed, however the historic gun emplacements remain as a visual reminder of Australia's and the Port's military history.
The steep and often slippery walk up the headland will leave you out of breath and also offer a harsh reality check on the daily struggles soldiers faced as they walked supplies up to the top of the mountain and spent long nights on lookout protecting our vulnerable shores.
But it wasn't just the headland that had the hubbub of defence personnel; what is now the Port Stephens Community Arts Centre was once the sick bay for HMAS Assault, a naval training ground in Port Stephens that prepared soldiers for war.
More than 20,000 US and Australian troops carried out amphibious training manoeuvres - specialised training consisting of beach landings from naval vessels - on the Port's shores as part of the Amphibious Training Centre.
Gan Gan Army Camp was established in bushland about 4km out of Nelson Bay as a troop staging and training area. The buildings, of which now only remnants remain, consisted of kitchens, mess, toilets and ablution blocks. The troops lived in tents.
The former army camp is located opposite from where Tomaree Sports Complex has been established and within the bushland bordered by Nelson Bay Road and Gan Gan Road.
Even Shoal Bay Country Club, founded in 1934, was requisitioned by the US military during the war.
HMAS Westralia provided accommodation to the many troops at HMAS Assault until buildings, including the sick bay, were complete.
By June 1945 the sick bay had become a small hospital ward of roughly 10 beds.
However, in 1949 the Commonwealth Employment Service converted the site into accommodation for European migrant workers until 1953.
It was reopened as a hospital in 1956 and later closed in 1981.
It was then that the Port Stephens Society of the Arts took ownership of the building and it later became the Port Stephens Community Arts Centre.
Tomaree Head's fortifications were listed on the NSW State Heritage Register in 2010.
The NSW heritage listing states that the rare site "is one of the few surviving, relatively intact NSW army garrison camps from the WWII era".
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Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
