04/10/2024
Guns of North Head
Edition 2
💥7-inch RML mk-IV💥
The 7-inch RML gun was first introduced in 1865 and were manufactured by the Royal Arsenal. It was the first gun to incorporat the new Woolwhich rifling system which consisted of 3 grooves with a uniform 1 turn in 35 calibres.
Whilst the 6 1/2 ton guns were classified as Naval guns, the 7 ton variants of the gun were used primarily for coastal defence and were mounted on various carriages.
Mounted at North Head were the Mk-IV variant on dwarf pivot platform carriages. They were 7 ton guns with a muzzle velocity of 1,561 feet per second, with a maximum range of 5,500 yards. The 7-inch RML guns were installed at North Battery and the Summit Battery (Fort Cautley) during the second Russian scare in 1885. The emplacements initially had Kauri timber foundations filled with concrete and the passageways dug between the were open topped. The old stone kitchen at the summit was originally built as a magazine for this first iteration of emplacements here, however this did not last long as it was found to be too damp. At North Battery they utilised the magazine built for the 40-pr Armstrong RBL.
In 1888 the North Battery gun was removed to make way for an 8-inch disappearing gun and being installed in its place, diagram of the changes to the battery is included in the attached photos. What happened to this gun after its removal is unknown.
In 1890 the emplacements at Fort Cautley were remodelled. The open passageways were roofed over with concrete and covered with two metres of earth. Two new casemates, magazines, and store rooms were built.
In 1895 it was found many of the wooden walls, foundations of the gun pits and passages were cracking, it was all replaced with concrete.
In 1904 the 7-inch RML guns of Fort Cautley were dismounted, in 1905 they were gifted to Auckland City Council. One of these guns went to New Market where it was displayed until it was buried during the Second World War. It was later dug up, however all that remains is the gun itself. It has been displayed in many locations in New Market, it is presently situated at the War Memorial at Olympic Reserve.
In 1905 a 7-inch RML was put on display in Albert Park alongside a 64-pr RML from Fort Resolution, there is no concrete evidence as to the origin of this gun but it is believed to be one of the Fort Cautley guns. The Albert Park guns were buried on Christmas Eve 1941 due to fear of reprocussions in the event of a Japanese invasion. In 1977 the Albert Park guns were dug up and restored, they remain on public display in Albert Park next to the South African War Artillery Memorial.
The northern gun pit was destroyed to make way for a 6-inch MK-VII battery which ended up being built further down the northern bank. The Southern gun pit remained empty and exposed up until some time May 1965 and February 1966 where it was filled in and covered over by the Royal New Zealand Navy who took over administration of North Head in 1964.
In 1992 as part of the Department of Conservation’s “North Head Tunnels Investigation”, the southern 7-inch RML gun pit was excavated, it is fenced off and visible from above ground, however the Summit Battery tunnels are no open to the public to view the associated magazines and artillery stores.
