Bantry Bay (New South Wales)

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Bantry Bay in Sydney Australia is located just off Middle Harbour in the Garigal National Park.

[edit] History and Description

Many people think Bantry Bay was a military complex, but in fact it was used to store military explosives during the Second World War. Children in the area sometimes refer to it as the "ammo dump". The nine explosives magazines were built from 1914 and replaced old hulks that had been used to store explosives in nearby Powder hulk Bay on Sydney Harbour. In 1915 the works were handed over to the state-run explosives department, who regulated the explosives industry in NSW. In 1973 operations at Bantry Bay stopped and the base was closed. The National Parks and Wildlife currently maintains the site and in 2003 announced it would invest $350,000 AUD in restoring the aging roofing^[1]. As of 2006 the site remained closed to the public due to old explosive contamination at the site. However, there are good views of the site from the eastern side of Bantry Bay, which can be accessed from the Timbergetter's track, which starts at Seaforth Oval. Walking tracks also go around the west side of the magazines, providing access from the nearby residential area of Killarney Heights.^[2]

The Warringah Shire Council minutes of 4 January 1907 reveal how unpopular was the government's proposal to take over Bantry Bay, which was a very popular recreation area for many residents of Sydney, and had been visited regularly by day trippers since the 1840s. By 1910 work on the construction of the new explosives magazines at Bantry Bay had commenced^[3].

Aboriginal occupation of the area is evident through the abundance of middens along the foreshore.

Prior to the creation of Garigal National Park, the area had been preserved for some time as a reserve of 250 hectares, which was listed on the Register of the National Estate.^[4]