Battery Point Battery Historic Area

Old Dump Road, LYTTELTON

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Battery Point is the only site in Canterbury where coastal defence structures were set up to protect the country against three different threats of invasion, during the 1880s Russian scare, World War I and World War II. From the 1880s this site was recognised as a key position to guard the inner approach to Lyttelton harbour, with the guns emplaced here to function in conjunction with those on Ripapa Island. Both sites were re-commissioned during the two world wars as the inner harbour's principal defence, but from 1939 a further coastal battery was located at Godley Head to protect the entrance to the harbour. On this promontory, which slopes steeply down to the water's edge, the three layers of historical use are still discernable with structures remaining from each era, though the World War I features are minor. Mechanical components, armaments and camp buildings have all been removed and one of the 1880s RML (rifled muzzle loading) gun pits has been covered over. Some 20 specific items have been identified and they include gun emplacements, searchlight emplacements, a battery observation point, engine room, magazine and war shelter. The site was never the scene of enemy engagement. [The most notable incident occurred in October 1939 when a local fishing point, Dolphin, did not properly identify itself and the warning shot from No. I gun accidentally killed two crewmen]. Battery Point Battery is Canterbury's only example of Victorian defence structures remaining alongside those from World Wars I and II and it provides a significant demonstration of the defence measures taken during these three differing times with typical features from each.

Battery Point Battery Historic Area. Plan of Historic Area from registration report. | 25/06/2004 | NZ Historic Places Trust

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Area

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

7553

Date Entered

6th June 2004

Date of Effect

6th June 2004

City/District Council

Christchurch City

Region

Canterbury Region

Extent of List Entry

Battery Point Battery historic area comprises of some 20 coastal defence structures including gun emplacements, search light emplacements, battery observation posts, an engine room, magazine and war shelter.

Legal description

RS 41609 (RT CB25K/493), Pt RS 130 (RT CB782/26), RS 39684 (RT CB9A/1217), RS 41918 &RS 41877 (RT CB27F/680), RS 40209 (RT CB11K/1455). All situated in Block 1, Pigeon Bay Survey District.

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