An insight into Adelaide’s Historic World War 1 & World War 2 Sites…
Named “The Bomb Shelter” because of the artwork inside, this nissen shaped hut wasn’t actually a bomb shelter at all; it was a secret semi-underground transmitting station.
Built west of the Gawler Airfield (north of Adelaide) along Two Wells Road it formed part of the major communication installations built in and around the town of Gawler during the Second World War.
Built in 1883 to defend Adelaide from foreign invaders, Fort Largs has always been a restricted area; inaccessible to the public.
Most notable are the two 6-inch Mk VII breech loading Armstrong Guns capable of firing a 45 kg shell 13,400 meters at 8 rounds per minute.
Rail tracks were used to cart the shells from the magazine into tunnels beneath the guns. There lifts carried the shells up to the base of the Armstrong Guns.
The Islington Air Raid Shelter is one of several built by the South Australian government should World War II come to Australia.
Many people think the shelters were meant for people to hide within during an air attack however they were built to store emergency food, blankets and other supplies.
Currently this one is being used for document storage but parts of its original make can still can be seen…
