Abandoned Oz Hill 60 Tunnels In this video we explore the Hill 60 Tunnels - Illowra Battery in Port Kembla. Support Abandoned Oz: patreon.com/sydneytrainsvlogsandabandonedoz
Thanks guys. I was aware of the installation but I have never been there. The two rooms with passages right around them and windows in the walls were the magazines where the cartridges were stored. The windows were lamp recesses. The recesses were glazed on the inside and probably the glass was protected with a heavy gauge wire mesh. In the emplacements the recesses in the wall were ready use lockers for shell storage. The separate building with the pedestal with a metal cap was the Battery Observation Post. The pedestal was for the depression range finder which was used to provide the necessary range and bearing data to facilitate the laying of the guns. Given the large amount of space it may well have contained the searchlight controls as well. If you are interested in old forts Fort Scratchley in Newcastle is well worth a visit. Since its foundation in 1982 the Fort Scratchley Historical Society has done an enormous amount of work to interpret the site. There is quite a large array of guns on display. The only non original is the time gun which is fired at 1300 each day when the fort is open. It really is a fascinating place.
There is also a gun emplacement & a couple of searchlight emplacements and an observation tower/post as well as ammunition magazine just up from Fort Scratchley at the other end of King Edward Park called Shepherd's Hill (Bar Beach) which I hope to go & check out soon as well.... ;)
@@bleeksbentbits3150 There are two different periods of defences on Shepherds Hill. The large hole in the ground was an emplacement dating to the 1890s. It housed an eight disappearing gun. It's role was to cover a black hole in Scratchley's field of fire caused by Nobbys. From memory it was just known as Shepherds Hill Battery. During World War 2 Park Battery was constructed. It had two six inch guns. One was behind the houses on Shepherds Hill. That emplacement is still there. Number two gun was in King Edward Park. That emplacement was built on a number of levels with ladders between them. Newcastle City Council bricked over the entrance several times but people kept breaking through the brick work so because of the hazards involved Council demolished the installation. Park Battery was served by two search lights. One was on the cliff face above Susan Gilmore Beach. The other was on the northern side of King Edward Park. Both emplacements are still there. The observation post served a number of roles. It was the Battery Observation Post and Searchlight control station for Park Battery. The other battery role it served was as an observation post and range finder position for Fort Wallace at Stockton. The top level became a radar station later in the war. I was told that the building was unusual in that it was occupied by personnel from all three arms of the forces. Army, Navy and Air Force. Keep safe and please don't add to the damage done in the past.
@@davidberriman5903 Thanks for the info, some of it I hadn't already read elsewhere- Im a bit late to the party in learning about places like this! ;) I have no intent to cause any damage, just to spend time there investigating the place & to clean up the rubble there & remove the rubbish.... Partly from OCD, partly because its so sad to see places like this fall into disrepair & partly because Im sure theres those that don't mind seeing vandals e.t.c destroy places like this so that one day they can sign an order that sees them sold off to developers to be destroyed then claim its for the public good.... And partly because there's some trespassers that would rather see places like this still available for those that are genuinely curious rather than those wanting to smash the world just to see what it sounds like.... ;)
Very interesting but creepy. I imagine the tracks you see in the tunnel was used to transport the ammunition to the gun placements. There are also gun placements at North Head and Middle Head. Those at Middle Head were used by squatters for many years as very basic accommodation.
After your last video I was going to ask if you would check this out. I haven't been in years but those steal bared gates are new and an obvious attempt to keep ppl out haha
I used to go to the high school/ Secondary College not far from Hill 60 in the early to mid 1990's and my science teacher used to take my class into the Hill 60 tunnels (or 'marshy' tunnels as we called them). We entered through the gates of the number 2 gun placement (the gates back then were pretty much open and almost falling off so it was easy to enter) and walked up the tunnel across to the other tunnel that lead to number 1 gun placement (the one with the gun shield). Us boys used to scare the girls in the class by closing both doors that lead to each tunnel when we were crossing from one tunnel to another making the section we were in heaps dark (we didn't have torches), the girl's screams were priceless LOL 😀.
You guys should do old Kenmore hospital, the left wing is still working but the right wind and the mansion isn’t working, also patients from the left wing still go into the mansion.
THANK YOU!!! Been wanting to go check these out for some time now but currently transportationally challenged (no license) I'd heard they were more full of rubbish than they appear here- such a shame about the graphitti.... Would love to go camp there one weekend with a broom & shovel & give 'em a good clean- but first there's a couple of similar places down in Newcastle called King Edward Park called Shepherd's Hill (Bar Beach) that I'd like to do the same for!
There are also two sets of very similar tunnels under the old Channel Four TV area at Fort Drummond between Mt. St. Thomas and Coniston suburbs of Wollongong ,,,, two 9.2 inch Artillery Cannons with associated tunnels , areas for storage of the shells and generators etc ..... in two separate tunnel systems for two sets of artillery... The 9.2 inch shells were still in the storage areas of the tunnel system plus multiple military equipment and paperwork re gun deviation and use .: the area was still fenced with barbed wire and full staff facilities still on site..... barracks , command areas etc ..... used to go thru the tunnels as a Mountso kid .... just after the Army had a skeleton staff at the base ........... Tunnels were also used during the late 70's for mushroom growing .......... maybe still worth a visit ?
There are a number of former fortifications that were built in and arounf the Gong some of which date back over 130 years. Battery Park on Cliff Road houses Smith's Hill Fort that was constructed early 1890's as a defense against a threatened attack by the Russians (but no Putin then). An interesting installation refurbished in 1988. There is also a bunker at Mount Nebo just south of Mount Keira that housed an emplacement capable of reaching vessels at sea. A large amount of coastal vessels were lost during WW2 when enemy raiders used to frequent the SE coast of Oz. Another great feature are the disused rail lines the most famous of which is the former Wollongong Harbour line now restored as a walking track as part of the Blue Mile. The area that is now Throsby Drive used to be part the coal mines systems.
It's very sad the condition its in considering its significance. They could have turned it into a tourist site / museum its is such a wasted opportunity for locals and visitors. I had been here a few times before but The area is has a lot more WWII history and sites that I only became aware of after I did and War History tour by some local amateur historians / enthusiasts!
@@davidberriman5903 Good chance that the actual gun and / or barrell would contain some recoverable valuable metal such as brass. The shield looks like cast Iron and if there's one thing there is plenty of in PK it is Iron.
@@flamingfrancis The barrel itself is steel of course very high quality. Many parts of the breech mechanism and elevating and traversing gear are bronze. They are all relatively easily removed. Perhaps the shield was not considered of good enough quality material to warrant the effort of recovering such a large mass although a gas axe would soon reduce it to more easily transportable pieces.
@@flamingfrancis I have a feeling that gun shields were actually cast steel not cast iron. It is a long time since I looked at the manuals so I could be mistaken but I am fairly sure.
How do u get around to the front of bunker where cannon use to be & where the shield is ? Hill 60 was used in Aussie Car classic Running on Empty in the early 80s. Trying to find the filming locations. Think I have found a few. If u want a good walk in a tunnel try the old Stanwell Park(mushroom) tunnel. It is at end of Chellowden Drive at Stanwell Park. It comes out near Otford train station. Take a good torch.
I think those tunnels were built by other people way before any war, possibly even before Australia was colonised. And, of course, it's named after another area: The Battle of Hill 60 took place near Hill 60 south of Ypres on the Western Front, during the First World War. Hill 60 had been captured by the German 30th Division on 11 November 1914, during the First Battle of Ypres.Wikipedia
@@doingadlay Correct. Nothing to do with naming from other areas. Hill 59 is located not far away. These were constructed in WW2 along with several along the NSW coast. For the unitiated there were a number of coastal shipping vessels that were sunk by submarines along the SE Australian coast. One ship containing Iron ore for PKSW was lost. A search will find listings.
BTW, shared to IKS Explore's page on FB- you should check out their chennel here on YT as well- plenty of awesome fortifications they get to explore over in Pomgolia- I especially love the Palmerston era forts!!! ;)
The trouble is they talk too much crap and there coverage of the sites is very patchy. I was subscribed but I pulled out. I couldn't stand the rubbish any longer.
Great hisoric sights and relics but we dont need the graffiti it just ruins everything and looks unsightly. If you go to williamstown in the western suburbs of melbourne there is a place called point gellibrand and theres a battery and fourt there that goes back to the 1860s which was cleaned up and restoerd, payed for by the federal government and is fenced and is now a historic attraction that has payed tours. I used to play in those batteries as a kid in the early 1980s before it was restored and a snippet of that local tv show in the mid 1980s ,the henderson kids was filmed there so if your ever down that way phil look it up and take a tour of it.
![[TH] 2024 PMSL SEA W2D5 | Fall | พลาดวันนี้ จะต้องเสียใจ](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/A5-Cuo12p6A/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks guys. I was aware of the installation but I have never been there. The two rooms with passages right around them and windows in the walls were the magazines where the cartridges were stored. The windows were lamp recesses. The recesses were glazed on the inside and probably the glass was protected with a heavy gauge wire mesh. In the emplacements the recesses in the wall were ready use lockers for shell storage. The separate building with the pedestal with a metal cap was the Battery Observation Post. The pedestal was for the depression range finder which was used to provide the necessary range and bearing data to facilitate the laying of the guns. Given the large amount of space it may well have contained the searchlight controls as well. If you are interested in old forts Fort Scratchley in Newcastle is well worth a visit. Since its foundation in 1982 the Fort Scratchley Historical Society has done an enormous amount of work to interpret the site. There is quite a large array of guns on display. The only non original is the time gun which is fired at 1300 each day when the fort is open. It really is a fascinating place.
There is also a gun emplacement & a couple of searchlight emplacements and an observation tower/post as well as ammunition magazine just up from Fort Scratchley at the other end of King Edward Park called Shepherd's Hill (Bar Beach) which I hope to go & check out soon as well.... ;)
@@bleeksbentbits3150 There are two different periods of defences on Shepherds Hill. The large hole in the ground was an emplacement dating to the 1890s. It housed an eight disappearing gun. It's role was to cover a black hole in Scratchley's field of fire caused by Nobbys. From memory it was just known as Shepherds Hill Battery.
During World War 2 Park Battery was constructed. It had two six inch guns. One was behind the houses on Shepherds Hill. That emplacement is still there. Number two gun was in King Edward Park. That emplacement was built on a number of levels with ladders between them. Newcastle City Council bricked over the entrance several times but people kept breaking through the brick work so because of the hazards involved Council demolished the installation. Park Battery was served by two search lights. One was on the cliff face above Susan Gilmore Beach. The other was on the northern side of King Edward Park. Both emplacements are still there.
The observation post served a number of roles. It was the Battery Observation Post and Searchlight control station for Park Battery. The other battery role it served was as an observation post and range finder position for Fort Wallace at Stockton. The top level became a radar station later in the war. I was told that the building was unusual in that it was occupied by personnel from all three arms of the forces. Army, Navy and Air Force. Keep safe and please don't add to the damage done in the past.
@@davidberriman5903 Thanks for the info, some of it I hadn't already read elsewhere- Im a bit late to the party in learning about places like this! ;)
I have no intent to cause any damage, just to spend time there investigating the place & to clean up the rubble there & remove the rubbish....
Partly from OCD, partly because its so sad to see places like this fall into disrepair & partly because Im sure theres those that don't mind seeing vandals e.t.c destroy places like this so that one day they can sign an order that sees them sold off to developers to be destroyed then claim its for the public good....
And partly because there's some trespassers that would rather see places like this still available for those that are genuinely curious rather than those wanting to smash the world just to see what it sounds like.... ;)
Just love batteries like this ...you go from dungeon like tunnels, to epic coastal views 💯
Ditto!
One think i wanna do in these tunnels is bring my guitar along.
The acoustics would be amazing :)
@@AbandonedOZ Great idea! ...that certainly would be pretty amazing
I grew up not far from here and spent alot of time exploring the tunnels as a teen. It's so good to take a trip down memory lane!
I explored these tunnels back in the mid 80’s. I have to say they are a lot cleaner now than then.
Very interesting but creepy. I imagine the tracks you see in the tunnel was used to transport the ammunition to the gun placements. There are also gun placements at North Head and Middle Head. Those at Middle Head were used by squatters for many years as very basic accommodation.
There's heaps of junkies that go here. There was a party at that area shown at 5:30 a few weeks ago.
Like we’re all just walkng around - love this
Full Watch
Great video
I never knew they were there. Thanks for exploring
Interesting egg-splore sir.
After your last video I was going to ask if you would check this out. I haven't been in years but those steal bared gates are new and an obvious attempt to keep ppl out haha
I used to go to the high school/ Secondary College not far from Hill 60 in the early to mid 1990's and my science teacher used to take my class into the Hill 60 tunnels (or 'marshy' tunnels as we called them). We entered through the gates of the number 2 gun placement (the gates back then were pretty much open and almost falling off so it was easy to enter) and walked up the tunnel across to the other tunnel that lead to number 1 gun placement (the one with the gun shield).
Us boys used to scare the girls in the class by closing both doors that lead to each tunnel when we were crossing from one tunnel to another making the section we were in heaps dark (we didn't have torches), the girl's screams were priceless LOL 😀.
You guys should do old Kenmore hospital, the left wing is still working but the right wind and the mansion isn’t working, also patients from the left wing still go into the mansion.
there’s a couple of way bigger tunnels in this area but heaps of syringes and stuff so kinda sketchy
Years ago a few mates and I went down there..we always thought someone was following us around.
Shame we get so many views of someone’s back!
THANK YOU!!!
Been wanting to go check these out for some time now but currently transportationally challenged (no license)
I'd heard they were more full of rubbish than they appear here- such a shame about the graphitti....
Would love to go camp there one weekend with a broom & shovel & give 'em a good clean- but first there's a couple of similar places down in Newcastle called King Edward Park called Shepherd's Hill (Bar Beach) that I'd like to do the same for!
As a young fella we used to wag school and hang out there often..and swim down the near by nuns pool..
There are also two sets of very similar tunnels under the old Channel Four TV area at Fort Drummond between Mt. St. Thomas and Coniston suburbs of Wollongong ,,,, two 9.2 inch Artillery Cannons with associated tunnels , areas for storage of the shells and generators etc ..... in two separate tunnel systems for two sets of artillery... The 9.2 inch shells were still in the storage areas of the tunnel system plus multiple military equipment and paperwork re gun deviation and use .: the area was still fenced with barbed wire and full staff facilities still on site..... barracks , command areas etc ..... used to go thru the tunnels as a Mountso kid .... just after the Army had a skeleton staff at the base ........... Tunnels were also used during the late 70's for mushroom growing .......... maybe still worth a visit ?
There are a number of former fortifications that were built in and arounf the Gong some of which date back over 130 years. Battery Park on Cliff Road houses Smith's Hill Fort that was constructed early 1890's as a defense against a threatened attack by the Russians (but no Putin then). An interesting installation refurbished in 1988. There is also a bunker at Mount Nebo just south of Mount Keira that housed an emplacement capable of reaching vessels at sea.
A large amount of coastal vessels were lost during WW2 when enemy raiders used to frequent the SE coast of Oz.
Another great feature are the disused rail lines the most famous of which is the former Wollongong Harbour line now restored as a walking track as part of the Blue Mile. The area that is now Throsby Drive used to be part the coal mines systems.
It's very sad the condition its in considering its significance. They could have turned it into a tourist site / museum its is such a wasted opportunity for locals and visitors. I had been here a few times before but The area is has a lot more WWII history and sites that I only became aware of after I did and War History tour by some local amateur historians / enthusiasts!
" yes there s glow worms 🪱 here ✨️ " agh !" Laugh 😃 😀 😄 😁 🤣
Wonder why the gunshield was left there.
I wondered the same. I think the barrel would have been heavier than the shield and it has gone.
@@davidberriman5903 Good chance that the actual gun and / or barrell would contain some recoverable valuable metal such as brass. The shield looks like cast Iron and if there's one thing there is plenty of in PK it is Iron.
@@flamingfrancis The barrel itself is steel of course very high quality. Many parts of the breech mechanism and elevating and traversing gear are bronze. They are all relatively easily removed. Perhaps the shield was not considered of good enough quality material to warrant the effort of recovering such a large mass although a gas axe would soon reduce it to more easily transportable pieces.
@@flamingfrancis I have a feeling that gun shields were actually cast steel not cast iron. It is a long time since I looked at the manuals so I could be mistaken but I am fairly sure.
But did you find the blocked off tunnel?? You walked straight past it.. ;)
How do u get around to the front of bunker where cannon use to be & where the shield is ? Hill 60 was used in Aussie Car classic Running on Empty in the early 80s. Trying to find the filming locations. Think I have found a few. If u want a good walk in a tunnel try the old Stanwell Park(mushroom) tunnel. It is at end of Chellowden Drive at Stanwell Park. It comes out near Otford train station. Take a good torch.
It's hard to explain do you have Snapchat or Instagram I can send you a video on how to get around to the or we can meet up and I can show you
@@lithec3434 No I don't. Sorry.
I think those tunnels were built by other people way before any war, possibly even before Australia was colonised. And, of course, it's named after another area:
The Battle of Hill 60 took place near Hill 60 south of Ypres on the Western Front, during the First World War. Hill 60 had been captured by the German 30th Division on 11 November 1914, during the First Battle of Ypres.Wikipedia
Nah I think you're wrong about everything you just said
Bullshit
They are made from reinforced concrete.
@@doingadlay Correct. Nothing to do with naming from other areas. Hill 59 is located not far away.
These were constructed in WW2 along with several along the NSW coast. For the unitiated there were a number of coastal shipping vessels that were sunk by submarines along the SE Australian coast. One ship containing Iron ore for PKSW was lost. A search will find listings.
How do you find these places? lol
For me, google search & Wikipedia... ;)
tourist attractions
Its a well known area if you grow up in the illawarra
BTW, shared to IKS Explore's page on FB- you should check out their chennel here on YT as well- plenty of awesome fortifications they get to explore over in Pomgolia- I especially love the Palmerston era forts!!! ;)
The trouble is they talk too much crap and there coverage of the sites is very patchy. I was subscribed but I pulled out. I couldn't stand the rubbish any longer.
Hello 😊
Hey there! :)
Great hisoric sights and relics but we dont need the graffiti it just ruins everything and looks unsightly. If you go to williamstown in the western suburbs of melbourne there is a place called point gellibrand and theres a battery and fourt there that goes back to the 1860s which was cleaned up and restoerd, payed for by the federal government and is fenced and is now a historic attraction that has payed tours. I used to play in those batteries as a kid in the early 1980s before it was restored and a snippet of that local tv show in the mid 1980s ,the henderson kids was filmed there so if your ever down that way phil look it up and take a tour of it.
I live in Australia 🇦🇺
bloody vandal's with spray paint,they dont understand